South American

division

ADULT SABBATH SCHOOL BIBLE STUDY GUIDE

THE HOLY SPIRIT

SEVENTH-DAY

ADVENTIST CHURCH

ADULT

SABBATH SCHOOL

BIBLE STUDY GUIDE

April

■

May

■

June 2006

April

■

May

■

June 2006

Atlantic

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Lake Titicaca

Amazon R.

Rio Aragua

Rio Jurua

Rio Madeira

Rio

Madre de

Dios

Rio Magda

lena

Rio Negro

Rio Orinoco

Rio Para

guay

Rio Parana

Rio

Parana

Rio Purus

Rio Sao Francisc

Rio Tapajos

Rio Teles Pires

Rio

can

tin

Rio Tocantins

Rio Uruguay

Rio Xingu

ARGENTINA

BOLIVIA

PERU

BRAZIL

CHILE

ECUADOR

PARAGUAY

URUGUAY

Rio de Janeiro

Colatina

Petropolis

*EAQ060401*

Where legally possible, offerings will go to these projects; otherwise special arrangement will be made with the

General Conference for distribution of funds based on the laws of the countries where these offerings are collected.

Unions Churches Companies Members Population

Austral Union Conference 542 328 108,485 47,300,000

Bolivia Union Mission 253 686 143,029 8,766,000

Central Brazil Union Conference 828 621 174,668 44,128,022

Chile Union Mission 518 244 117,730 15,988,000

East Brazil Union Conference 861 902 145,455 33,955,654

Ecuador Union Mission

111

307

52,524

13,402,000

Nor

th Br

azil Union Mission 1,409 1,180 543,221 17,371,828

Northeast Brazil Union Mission 995 1,403 236,015 43,877,295

u Union Mission

1,568 2,538 664,016 27,547,000

South Brazil Union Conference 669 835 140,424 25,717,467

West Central Brazil Union Mission 409 578 89,041 14,040,734

Total 8,163 9,622 2,414,608 292,094,000

Mission Projects

● Rebuild boys’ dormitory at Petropolis Adventist Academy.

● Rebuild boys’ dormitory at Espirito Santo Academy (EDESSA).

● Seven churches in newly entered regions in the East Brazil Union.

● Chapels for existing congregations in Northwest Argentina Mission.

For more information, visit www.adventistmission.org

●

Sp i r i t

Holy

The

Contents

1 The Personality and Divinity of the Holy Spirit—March 25-31—— 6

2 The Holy Spirit Symbolized in Scripture—April 1-7 —————— 14

3 Jesus and the Holy Spirit—April 8-14 ————————————— 22

4 The Promise of the Holy Spirit—April 15-21——————————— 30

5 The Promise Fulfilled—April 22-28 —————————————— 38

6 The Baptism of the Holy Spirit—April 29–May 5 ——————— 46

7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit—May 6-1 2 ——————————————— 56

8 The Fruit of the Holy Spirit—M a y 1 3 - 1 9 ————————————— 6 4

9 The Christian’s Guide—May 20-26———————————————— 7 2

10 Life Through the Holy Spirit—May 27–June 2———————— 80

11 The Restorer—June 3-9 ———————————————————— 88

12 The Sin Against the Holy Spirit—June 10-16————————— 96

13 The Holy Spirit in the Last Days—June 17-23—————————— 104

Editorial Assistant

Larie S. Gray

Pacific Press

Coordinator

Paul A. Hey

Art Director and Illustrator

Lars Justinen

Concept Design

Dever Design

Editorial Office 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904

Principal Contributor

Based on previously published material

by Arnold V. Wallenkampf

Editor

Clifford R. Goldstein

Associate Editor

Lyndelle Brower Chiomenti

Publication Manager

Soraya Homayouni Parish

The Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide is prepared by the Office of the Adult

Bible Study Guide of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The

preparation of the guides is under the general direction of the Sabbath School

Publications Board, a subcommittee of the General Conference Administrative

Committee (ADCOM), publisher of the Bible study guides. The published guide

reflects the input of worldwide evaluation committees and the approval of the

Sabbath School Publications Board and thus does not solely or necessarily repre-

sent the intent of the author(s).

“God the eternal Spirit was active

with the Father and the Son in

Creation, incarnation, and redemp-

tion. He inspired the writers of

Scripture. He filled Christ’s life with

power. He draws and convicts human

beings; and those who respond He

renews and transforms into the image

of God. Sent by the Father and the Son

to be always with His children, He

extends spiritual gifts to the church,

empowers it to bear witness to Christ,

and in harmony with the Scriptures leads it into all truth.”

—

Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . (Hagerstown, Md.: Review

and Herald Publishing Association, 1988), p. 58.

Even the quickest reading of Fundamental Beliefs, number 5,

should awaken us to the importance of the Holy Spirit to our

faith. Indeed, we couldn’t be Christians without Him and His

work in our lives. Christ’s accomplishments for us become effica-

cious only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we

accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and claim His righteousness

instead of our own filthy rags or when we determine through the

grace of God to put away sin and live in obedience to God’s law—

we are responding to the Holy Spirit and nothing else.

The Bible mentions the Holy Spirit more than three hundred

times: more than one hundred times in the Old Testament and

more than two hundred in the New Testament. Thus, how worthy

of study the Holy Spirit is, especially now when every wind of doc-

trine is blowing, even in regard to the Holy Spirit Himself. Some

question His personhood and/or His divinity. Others emphasize

the work of the Spirit and His gifts (or what they claim are His

gifts), while they pay scant attention to the obedience and sanctifi-

THE

oly

pirit

The Spirit alone

can breathe

upon us the life-

changing breath

of our Savior.

cation that are the undeniable fruit of the Spirit’s work in our lives.

All this needs to be looked at in light of the Word of God.

Seventh-day Adventists should be most interested in becoming

personally acquainted with the Spirit. We believe not only in

Christ’s death for our sins but also in His intercession for us in the

heavenly sanctuary. Only the Spirit can apply the results of that

intercession to our lives in anticipation of Christ’s return.

Because it was the Spirit who inspired the writers of the

Scriptures

(2 Pet. 1:21), when the Spirit speaks today, He will speak

in accordance with His own inspired messages. Anything not in

conformity with the Bible, must therefore emanate from some

source other than the Holy Spirit. We are told to “test the spirits”

(1 John 4:1, NIV), and in the end the only sure standard for that

test is the Bible itself.

Though these lessons will present a doctrinal picture of the

Spirit, they also will emphasize the daily and practical aspect of

His work in our lives, for the Spirit is the Divine Agent for reach-

ing sinful humanity. His workings are as unchartable as mountain

breezes; yet, the powerful reality of His work is manifested not

only in our personal experiences but in the life and power of the

church. Thus, we deal extensively with the vivifying power of the

Spirit as we seek to present the Spirit as God’s regenerating Agent.

He alone can breathe upon us the life-changing breath of our

Lord—a truth so fundamental to being a Christian.

May the Lord bless us as we seek not only to understand the

work of the Holy Spirit but to know more about how to receive

His promises in order that, as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, we

“might be filled with all the fulness of God”

(Eph. 3:19).

The late Arnold V. Wallenkampf, Ph.D., a Swede, worked in the

church for decades as a pastor and a professor, and before retire-

ment was an associate director of the Biblical Research Institute at

the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

pirit

Got

Questions?

Sabbath School

University

has answers!

Sabbath School University is a

28-minute discussion of the Adult

Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. SSU

discusses the content and strategies to

enrich your Sabbath School with

fellowship, outreach, Bible study,

and missions. Sabbath School leaders,

don’t miss this weekly broadcast on

Hope Channel.

www.hopetv.org

Your weekly Mission Offering supports life-changing projects around the

world. For more information, or to give your Mission Offering online, visit

www.adventistmission.orgwww.adventistmission.org

Mission brings believers together to share God's love. Sometimes

members contribute money to build churches in a specific area; other

times believers form a prayer partnership that joins hearts with God

and with fellow members far away. And sometimes mission takes on a

unique challenge, such as that which faced Segunda Galvan (above)

when a little group of believers in Argentina needed a church. Her family

made the bricks by hand, hauled the water by burro, and built their

church, which has become a community of praise.

In these ways and more, we come together to introduce others to

Jesus and His love.

Many believers in northwestern Argentina and eastern Brazil have no

place in which to worship. Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this

quarter will help build chapels for them. That's mission at work.

One

Brick

at a Time

*March 25-31

The Personality and Divinity

of the Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Gen. 1:26; 3:22; Isa. 6:8;

Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; 2 Cor. 13:14.

Memory Text:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptiz-

ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy

Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

ne doesn’t have to read far in the Bible before one is con-

fronted with the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:2 reads, “The earth

was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of

the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the

waters”

(NASB); meanwhile, at the other end of the Bible, Revelation

22:17 reads, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that

heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever

will, let him take the water of life freely.”

Of course, between these two texts, throughout the pages of

Scripture, the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit are revealed to us.

This especially is true in the New Testament, where we are given

many insights into the reality, purpose, and function of the Holy

Spirit, particularly in regard to the plan of salvation.

This week we’ll concentrate on one often misunderstood aspect of

the Holy Spirit: His divinity. In other words, the Holy Spirit isn’t just

some impersonal force that emanates from God. Instead, He is God,

one of the three Persons who make up the Godhead of the Christian

aith. Let’s take a look at this fundamental teaching of the Bible.

*Study this w

eek’

s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 1.

L ESSON

SUNDAY

March 26

The Triune God

The second of the 27 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day

Adventist Church reads, in part: “There is one God: Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.”—Seventh-day

Adventists Believe . . . , p. 16. In other words, Adventists—along with

millions of other Christians—believe in the triune nature of God; that

is, there is one God (Deut. 6:4) who exists as three Persons. While that

concept itself might not be simple, the biblical evidence for this truth

is powerful and compelling. That we can’t fully understand some-

thing, particularly something about the very nature of God Himself, is

hardly reason to reject it (Job 11:7, 1 Cor. 13:12).

How

do each of the following texts point to the plurality of the

Godhead?

Gen. 1:26

____________________________________________________________________

Gen. 3:22

____________________________________________________________________

Gen. 11:7

____________________________________________________________________

Isa. 6:8

____________________________________________________________________

John 1:1-3

____________________________________________________________________

John 8:58

____________________________________________________________________

“The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invis-

ible to mortal sight. The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead mani-

fested. The Word of God declares Him to be ‘the express image of His

person.’ . . . The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He

ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead,

making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and

believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons

of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by

living f

aith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the

obedient subjects of hea

en in their efforts to live the new life in

Christ.

”—Ellen G.

White, Evang

elism,

pp. 614, 615.

What analogies—such as a triangle or a three-pronged fork—

can help someone under

stand the idea of ho

w one God can be

composed of three equal Persons? What other examples might

help us better under

stand this deep truth?

March 27

God the Holy Spirit: Part 1

Most people don’t have a problem with the idea of the Father as

God. After all, God is who the Father is. Even the idea of Jesus as

God, as a fully Divine Being manifest in human form, though some-

what difficult to grasp, is, nevertheless, comprehensible. After all, an

all-powerful God should be able to manifest Himself in human flesh

if He so chooses to, right?

For many people, however, the concept of the Holy Spirit Himself

as God is a much more difficult concept. It’s much easier to think of

the Holy Spirit not as God Himself but as some sort of impersonal

force, some divine energy and power, such as gravity, that comes from

God and pervades the world.

Yet, the Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit is Divine; that is, the Holy

Spirit, just as the Father and as the Son, is one of the divine

Personages of the Godhead.

How

do the following texts help us understand the divine nature of

the Holy Spirit?

Gen. 1:2

____________________________________________________________________

Matt. 1:20

____________________________________________________________________

Matt. 28:19

____________________________________________________________________

John 14:16

____________________________________________________________________

Acts 5:3, 4

____________________________________________________________________

Rom. 8:11

____________________________________________________________________

1 Cor. 2:10, 11

____________________________________________________________________

2 Cor. 3:17

____________________________________________________________________

Attributes of the Holy Spirit include truth (John 16:13), life (Rom.

8:2), and omnipotence (1 Cor. 2:10, 11)—attributes associated with

divinity. Jesus, in Matthew 12:31, 32, says blasphemy spoken against

Him can be for

ven but not blasphemy spoken against the Holy

Spirit, a concept that doesn’

t mak

e much sense if the Hol

y Spirit is

anything less than God. Matthew 1:20, where Jesus is conceived in the

womb of Mary through the Holy Spirit, is also a difficult text to

understand if the Hol

y Spirit w

ere not truly God.

(See also Gen. 1:2.)

MONDAY

TUESDAY

March 28

God the Holy Spirit: Part 2

“Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the

Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles

it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in

thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?

thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:3, 4).

In these two verses the Holy Ghost and God are used interchange-

ably. Thus, Peter here is equating the Holy Spirit and God, a powerful

text that points to the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

How

does 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28 help us understand the divinity

of the Holy Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

First Corinthians 12, as well as chapters 13 and 14, speaks of divine

gifts or heavenly endowments made to members of the church.

Interestingly enough, this discussion by the apostle Paul uses the

same interchange that Peter made in speaking to Ananias and

Sapphira. The Spirit, in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, and Lord and God, in

verses 5, 6, and 28, are used interchangeably.

What

did Jesus call the Representative He was going to send to His

followers after His ascension? John 14:16.

____________________________________________________________________

Here Jesus addresses His Father as an equal and petitions a gift for

His followers. For the word translated “another” here, the Greek is

allos. It means “another of the same kind,” in contradistinction to het-

eros, which means “another of another kind.” Jesus intended to send

Someone who is like Himself, and that is—Divine—to the disciples

and succeeding generations of His followers. Previously, Jesus had

related Himself to His Father. Now He relates Himself to the Spirit.

Consequentl

, the

y are all alik

e, the Divine Persons of the Godhead.

Have you ever, as did Ananias and Sapphira, lied to the Holy

Spirit? If so,

hat should y

ou do now?

WEDNESDAY

March 29

The Unity of God

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and

the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor.

13:14).

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt.

28:19).

How

do these two verses help us see the divine nature of the Holy

Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

Christians have often been, and sometimes still are, accused of

being polytheists—worshipers of more than one God. This is an

understandable, but false, accusation. As Christians we admit there

are three Persons in the Godhead, but “they are one in purpose, in

mind, in character, but not in person.”—Ellen G. White,

The Ministry

of Healing, p. 422. The Christian religion is not a belief in three sepa-

rate gods; rather

, it is a belief in one God who is manifested in three

Persons working in perfect harmony with one another.

How

is God presented by Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4?

____________________________________________________________________

“Our God” in the text could justly be translated “our Gods.” Even

with their intense monotheism, the Jews still used a plural name for

God. In other words, this “one” God is depicted with a plural noun.

There has been a great deal of scholarly debate over the centuries

regarding the meaning and significance of the plural for God here and

in other places in Scripture. Explanations among both Jewish and

Christian scholars, besides the plurality of the Godhead itself, have

been giv

en. As believers in the triune nature of God, we could see this

use as

vidence

of our position b

ut cer

tainly not as proof. There is

other scriptural e

vidence, more concrete, that af

ms our understand

ing of the nature of God.

What hope can y

ou f

ind in the idea that all three Persons of the

Godhead are involved in the plan of salvation?

THURSDAY

March 30

Evidences of the Spirit’s Personality

Because Jesus had come to earth as a human being, in human form,

it’s not hard to think of Him as a person with distinct character traits.

In contrast, we oftentimes think of the Holy Spirit as an “it,” an imper-

sonal entity or power. Yet, the Bible presents the Holy Spirit as a dis-

tinct personality, one that has intelligence

(John 14:26, 15:26, Rom.

8:16), a will (Acts 16:7, 1 Cor. 12:11), and affections (Eph. 4:30).

The Bible also attributes to the Holy Spirit actions that reveal per-

sonality. He is said to speak expressly (1 Tim. 4:1), to send people on

missions (Acts 10:19, 20), to prevent people from going places (Acts

16:7), to command people (Acts 11:12), to forbid actions (Acts 16:6),

to call ministers of the gospel (Acts 13:2), to appoint them their

spheres of duty (Acts 20:28), and to make intercession (Rom. 8:26,

27). These qualities and actions are more commonly identified with

human personality as opposed to some mere power or influence.

How

did Jesus refer to the Spirit? John 15:26; 16:13, 14. What do

these texts tell us about the work of the Holy Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

Although the word

Spirit is a neuter noun in Greek, the Gospel

writers refer to Him by using the masculine he. The Spirit refers to

Himself by using the pronoun for the first person in Acts 13:2—me.

Thus, it is appropriate to use he when speaking of the Spirit. The

neuter gender for the Spirit, both in the original Greek and in English,

has undoubtedly contributed to the popular use of it as have the sym-

bols or emblems used in the Bible to present His nature and opera-

tions—fire, wind, oil, seal, and others.

What should it mean to you that the Holy Spirit isn’t just some

divine force but God Himself? How is it more comforting to

know that God the Hol

y Spirit, as opposed to an impersonal

force, is intimately and closely working in our lives?

____________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY

March 31

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, Evangelism, pp. 615–617; Ellen

G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 209; vol.

6, pp. 1052, 1053; Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 530;

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 585, 586.

“We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as

God is a person, is walking through these grounds.”—Ellen G. White,

Evangelism, p. 616.

“The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to

our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must

also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which

lie hidden in the mind of God. ‘For what man knoweth the things of

a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of

God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.’ ”—Ellen G. White,

Evangelism, p. 617.

“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the

power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.”

—Page 617.

“We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven,—the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,—and these powers will work

through us, making us workers together with God.”—Page 617.

Discussion Questions:

● Have those in the class who are willing talk about their own

personal experiences with the Holy Spirit and how He has

changed their lives.

● Trying to understand the idea of the plural nature of one God

isn’t always easy. There are limits to how much we can under-

stand. Why, though, should these limits not be a barrier to our

believing the Bible teaching on the triune nature of God? In

other words, do we have to fully understand something in order

to believe it? Defend your answer.

tor

INSIDE

The Sabbath Suit

Charlotte Ishkanian

Manuel Mombassa was asked to be Sabbath School superintendent in

his church in Mozambique. He was glad to serve, but he had a problem:

In Mozambique, as in much of Africa, a man who stands before the church

must wear a suit coat and tie. Mombassa had neither, and the recent civil

war made it difficult to find a coat at any price. So Mombassa borrowed

his uncle’s suit and tie each Sabbath.

One week the mission president was coming, and Mombassa spent extra

time on his Sabbath School presentation. But on Wednesday his uncle told

him that he was leaving town, taking his suit with him. “Tell your God to

send you a coat and tie,” his uncle chuckled.

Mombassa had no idea where to find a coat and tie, but he

had to be on

the platform that Sabbath. He put his problem at the feet of Jesus. But by

Friday afternoon he still had no coat or tie. Then late Friday afternoon as

he was praying, someone knocked at the door. His aunt opened the door

and shouted, “Mombassa, come! Your God has sent a suit.”

Mombassa hurried to the door and found a man selling a suit, complete

with shirt and tie. It looked new. “How much?” Mombassa asked, trem-

bling, for he had almost no money.

“Just 20,000 meticais (about US 50 cents at that time),” the man said.

Mombassa could hardly believe what he heard.

He slipped the coat on; it fit perfectly. He held up the pants; they did not

even need ironing! Quickly he paid the man and took the suit to his room.

There he knelt to thank God for the blessing.

During the mission report time that Sabbath Mombassa told how God

had provided his Sabbath suit. “When I could not help myself,” he said,

“God sent a stranger with exactly what I needed and just in time.”

Mombassa returned home from church and found his uncle had arrived.

“Uncle, look at the suit that my God has sent!” he said.

When Mombassa meets someone who doubts God’s care, he tells them

about the Sabbath suit God sent.

Manuel Mombassa (left) lives in Chimoio, Mozambique. Charlotte Ishkanian is editor of

Mission.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:info@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*April 1-7

L ESSON

The Holy Spirit Symbolized

in Scripture

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Matt. 3:11; 10:16; John

1:9, 32; 7:37-39; 2 Cor. 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 1:22.

Memory Text:

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou

hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and

whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John

3:8).

n addition to numerous references to the Spirit by name, both in

the Old and in the New Testament, the Spirit is frequently alluded

to through the use of a variety of symbols. It only is through an

acquaintance with the symbols, emblems, or illustrations used for the

Spirit that His work and ministry in the believer’s life can be ade-

quately understood.

“In us as a Light to illuminate; in us as a Friend to counsel; in us as

Water to refresh; in us as a Comforter to cheer; in us as a Teacher to

teach; in us as a Guide to direct; in us as Oil to make us shine; in us as

a Fire to purge; in us as a Dove to sympathize; in us as the Seal to

secure; in us as the Witness to confirm; in us as the Strength to keep;

in us as the Power to pray; in us as the Source of fruitbearing; in us as

Sap to make us grow; in us as the Remembrancer to remind us that all

the precious promises of God are yea and amen in Christ; and in us as

the Earnest of the coming glory.”—F. E. Marsh,

Emblems of the Holy

Spirit (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1957, 1971), p. 246.

This week we’ll take a look at what some of these symbols mean.

*Study this w

eek’

s lesson to pr

epare for Sabbath, April 8.

SUNDAY

April 2

Dove

“John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from

heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him” (John 1:32).

“The Lord had promised to give John a sign whereby he might

know who was the Messiah, and now as Jesus went up out of the

water, the promised sign was given; for he saw the heavens opened,

and the Spirit of God, like a dove of burnished gold, hovered over the

head of Christ.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible

Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1078.

When

you think of a dove, what qualities do you think of? Why

would this type of bird—as opposed to a crow, a vulture, or a

hawk—be used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit? See Matt. 10:16.

____________________________________________________________________

The word in Matthew 10:16 often translated as “harmless” can

more accurately be translated as “unmixed,” “pure,” “without a mix-

ture of evil.” This is certainly an apt description of Jesus, but it is also

an indication of what the Spirit can do in the lives of believers.

Read

Ephesians 5:9, 10; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:22.

What is the Lord telling us with these texts?

____________________________________________________________________

The Bible is abundantly clear about the kind of lives those who fol-

low the Lord should live. Yet, it’s also clear, too, that we can be what

God wants us to be only through a power from above working in our

hearts. In and of ourselves, we are simply too far gone to reform our-

selves in the sight of God. Only the purifying, regenerating, and sanc-

tifying po

wer of the Spirit can enable us to reflect the purity and char-

acter of Jesus. This is the goal of all who profess to follow Christ.

What areas in your own life need the greatest reformation?

What are practical ways in which you can cooperate with the

Hol

y Spirit so He can work the changes in you that are needed?

MONDAY

April 3

Water

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and

proclaimed, ‘If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He

who believes in me, as the scripture has said, “Out of his heart

shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now this he said about the

Spirit”

(John 7:37-39, RSV).

Jesus here likens the Spirit to water. Water is essential to life. There

can be no life without water. So, there can be no spiritual life without

the presence of the Spirit. Also, water is not something we can make

ourselves. We are totally dependent upon God for it. It’s the same with

the Spirit.

Notice, too, the idea of water flowing out of the hearts of those who

believe in Jesus. Here the Lord reveals a crucial truth about those who

believe in Him: That which they received through the Spirit will in

turn flow out from them to others.

Read

Isaiah 44:3, 4. How does this text reflect the same idea Jesus

expressed above?

____________________________________________________________________

The second part of verse 3 explains what the first part actually

means. Verse 4 indicates that as there will be growth as a result of

pouring out water upon parched land, so there will be spiritual growth

as a result of the outpouring of God’s Spirit. And growth alone is posi-

tive evidence of life. As parched land is clothed with verdant growth

because of water, so the Spirit can transform a barren soul into a per-

son of Christian beauty. “The Spirit of God through faith produces a

new life in the soul.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 176.

Read

Matthew 18:21-35. What principle is seen here that powerfully

expresses the idea of today’s lesson?

____________________________________________________________________

What ar

e some things the Hol

y Spirit has done f

or y

ou that y

also should be doing for others?

TUESDAY

April 4

Oil

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,

which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were

foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise

took oil in their vessels with their lamps”

(Matt. 25:1-4).

Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As lamps in the time of Christ

did not give light without oil, so a Christian cannot bring light to the

world, as he is commissioned to do (Matt. 5:14-16), without the Spirit

in his or her life. The wise virgins in the parable “had received the

grace of God, the regenerating, enlightening power of the Holy Spirit,

which renders His word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path. In

the fear of God they had studied the Scriptures to learn the truth, and

had earnestly sought for purity of heart and life.”—Ellen G. White,

The Great Controversy, p. 394.

what terms is the light-giving power of the Holy Spirit described in

Zechariah? Zech. 4:1-6. In particular, what do you think the angel

meant by his words in verse 6?

____________________________________________________________________

The lamps or the lampstands (the candlesticks) represent the

church, or Christ’s followers. (See Rev. 1:20.) From the holy ones that

stand in God’s presence, His Spirit is imparted to the human instru-

mentalities who are consecrated to His service. It is only through the

anointing and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit upon the heart

that we may develop the right attitude toward divine light and truth. It

is only through the Spirit, as opposed to human power and might, that

we can be channels of mercy and grace toward a sinful, dying world.

In Zechariah’s vision the two olive trees that stand before God are

represented as emptying the golden oil out of themselves through

golden tubes into the bowl of the sanctuary. From this the lamps of

the sanctuary are fed, that they may give a continuous bright and shin-

ing light. So, from the anointed ones that stand in God’s presence, the

fullness of divine light and love and power is imparted to His people,

that they may impart to others light and joy and refreshing. They are

to become channels through w

hich di

vine instr

umentalities commu

nicate to the world the tide of God’s love.

In the past 24 hour

e y

ou a dim bulb, a fickle lantern, or a

bright beacon of hope and grace?

WEDNESDAY

April 5

Seal and Guarantee

“He has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our

hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:22, RSV).

Read

a few verses (starting at verse 20) that precede 2 Corinthians

1:22. What is Paul basically saying to us?

____________________________________________________________________

Paul here uses the figure, or symbol, of money, kind of like a down

payment, to illustrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to believers. This is a

first installment, an assurance of their full inheritance when Christ

returns.

Where

do you see the work of the triune God in the preceding texts?

Why should that also give us assurance regarding salvation?

Notice too, in the above texts, in whom we have all these promises.

Of course, it’s in Jesus, for “all the promises of God find their Yes in

him”

(vs. 20, RSV). The assurance Paul talks about here, which is

sealed with the Holy Spirit, comes because of what Jesus has done for

us at the Cross. It’s only because of the Cross that we have been given

the Holy Spirit, the seal of our redemption.

The gift of the Spirit to the believer is the pledged guarantee to the

believer on the part of God that He will ultimately bring him the full

gift of salvation by taking him out of this world of sin and give him an

inheritance in His eternal kingdom. Even in human affairs the earnest

money, or down payment, is the purchaser’s pledge that he will go

through with a particular transaction. The Spirit is God’s down pay-

ment on His promised salvation, which was paid in full at the Cross.

The texts, though, do not teach “once saved always saved.” We can

resist the Spirit

(Acts 7:51); we can fall away. God’s sovereignty does

not infringe upon human free will. As long as we choose to follow

Him, living by faith—claiming His power to overcome when tempted,

claiming His forgiveness when we fall—we can be sure He will do all

He has promised for us. What more assurance do we need?

aul wr

ote that “all the promises of God find their Yes in him”

(2 Cor

. 1:20).

What pr

omises that w

e ha

e in J

esus mean the

most to you and give you the most comfort and assurance?

Share them with the class on Sabbath.

THURSDAY

April 6

Light and Fire

“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh

into the world” (John 1:9).

“Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever the

heart reaches out to bless and uplift others, there is revealed the work-

ing of God’s Holy Spirit. In the depths of heathenism, men who have

had no knowledge of the written law of God, who have never even

heard the name of Christ, have been kind to His servants, protecting

them at the risk of their own lives. Their acts show the working of a

divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the grace of Christ in the

heart of the savage, quickening his sympathies contrary to his nature,

contrary to his education. The ‘Light which lighteth every man that

cometh into the world’ (John 1:9), is shining in his soul; and this light,

if heeded, will guide his feet to the kingdom of God.”—Ellen G.

White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 385.

Dwell

on Ellen White’s understanding of John 1:9. What important

issues does it answer? What questions does it leave unanswered?

____________________________________________________________________

With

what did John the Baptist say Jesus would baptize His follow-

ers? What do you think he meant by what he said? Matt. 3:11.

____________________________________________________________________

Fire had a significant meaning to people familiar with Old Testament

traditions, for it denoted the presence of God (Exod. 3:2). It also repre-

sented the protection and leading providence of God (Exod. 13:21), the

appro

al of God

(Le

. 9:24),

and the cleansing and sanctifying po

er of

God

(Isa. 6:6, 7).

In w

hat w

ays have you experienced a baptism of fire? What

happened? What lessons did you learn?

FRIDAY

April 7

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, “Two

Worshipers,” pp. 158, 159 and “To Meet the Bridegroom,” pp. 405–

408; The Desire of Ages, pp. 190, 453, 454; The Ministry of Healing,

pp. 36, 37; The Great Controversy, pp. 425, 426; Steps to Christ, “The

Test of Discipleship,” pp. 57, 58.

Another example used to describe the work of the Holy Spirit was

presented by Jesus Himself, when He compared the work of the Spirit

to the wind (John 3:8). The wind is not visible; we do not know from

where it comes or where it goes. But although invisible, its effects are

plainly seen. Jesus likened the Spirit to the wind. He cannot be seen,

yet, the effects He brings about in changed human lives are plainly

evident. But the Spirit Himself is a mystery. Of the three Persons in

the Godhead, He is the most unfamiliar to humanity. Jesus came to

reveal, or make known, the Father

(see John 1:18), and humanity saw

Jesus in human form. But no one has ever seen the Spirit, nor has any-

one revealed Him to us.

“Christ uses the wind as a symbol of the Spirit of God. As the wind

bloweth whither it listeth, and we cannot tell whence it cometh or

whither it goeth, so it is with the Spirit of God. We do not know

through whom it will be manifested.”—Ellen G. White,

Selected

Messages, book 2, p. 15.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, compare your answers to the final question in

Wednesday’s study. What promises, if any, came up again and

again?

● The week’s study emphasized the changes the Holy Spirit

brings about in our individual lives and how these changes

should be manifested. How, though, should the church, as a

whole, be impacted by the Holy Spirit? What changes could He

bring to the whole church? How would these changes be made

manifest in, for example, how the church related to the local

community?

● What things could you do as a class to help your whole church

be more receptive to the workings and power of the Holy Spirit?

A New Hope

Anastasia Kmetova

I am an artist living in Bulgaria. My entire life had been filled with art,

but as I approached retirement, I knew that I would no longer be able to

enjoy the ceramics that had given me so much joy. I found my hope for the

future fading before me.

Then I found the true path to God, and my heart again was filled with

hope and love. But how, I wondered, could I share my faith with col-

leagues—artists, actors, writers, intellectuals. They were so much smarter

than I was. If I tried to preach to them, I knew they would not listen. I

prayed that God would give me a way to share my faith with these influ-

ential people.

And God gave me poetry.

Since my childhood I have written poems, but never a religious poem.

After I prayed for a way to share my faith, the words of religious poems

began to pour out onto paper. I had a small book of poems published. Then

when my friends asked me about God, I gave them a copy of the poems.

I’ve written poems about Christ’s first advent, His second coming, the

Flood—almost any religious topic.

People were curious why I was suddenly writing religious poems. I told

them I was excited over finding the true path to God, and I wanted to share

my joy with others.

Then I became ill and was hospitalized for 20 days. While there I shared

my faith with those who came to my room. Hospitals in Bulgaria are

gloomy and sad, but I dressed up my room a little and put my Bible on the

table and a nice blanket and pillowcase on the bed. The doctors and nurses

noticed and commented on the bright room. I told them that God created

a beautiful world, and we owe it to Him to recreate some beauty even in

the hospital.

I shared my faith with my roommates and

with the doctors and nurses. I gave each of

them a copy of my poems, and several asked to

learn more about my religion. I plan to contact

these women again soon and follow up on our

conversations in the hospital.

When I asked God for a way to share, He

e me just w

hat I needed.

Anastasia Kmetova (left) is a retired artist who shares her

faith in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

tor

INSIDE

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:info@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*April 8-14

L ESSON

Jesus and the Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This W

eek’

s Study:

Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4; Matt.

1:18-20; 3:16, 17; Luke 1:35; John 3:3-8, 34; Rom. 8:11; Heb. 9:14.

Memory Text:

“The angel answered and said unto her, The

Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest

shall o

vershadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall

be born of thee shall be called the Son of God”

(Luke 1:35).

he Holy Spirit was involved in the incarnation of Jesus and His

coming to this earth. Jesus was conceived by Mary through the

overshadowing of the Spirit. Before He entered upon His pub-

lic ministry, Jesus was endowed with the Spirit as He descended on

Him in the form of a dove at His baptism. Immediately after the bap-

tism, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness.

Throughout His entire ministry Jesus was led by the Spirit. He un-

reservedly committed Himself to the accomplishment of His Father’s

will, as unveiled to Him in the Sacred Writings and the promptings of

the Spirit. He surrendered His own inclinations. He had no more

desire to die at the age of 33 than you and I would. In fact, He pleaded

with His Father to take that cup away, if possible. But He would rather

die at 33 than go contrar

y to His Father’s will. He did not insist on hav-

ing His own way, although He could easily have escaped death.

His work, His ministry, and His miracles were accomplished, just as

ours must be, through the direction of the Holy Spirit.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 15.

SUNDAY

April 9

Miracle Birth

Read

Matthew 1:18-20 and Luke 1:35. What role do these texts give

to the Holy Spirit regarding the birth of Jesus into humanity?

____________________________________________________________________

If there are any texts in Scripture that show the limits of science and

human logic and experience to explain the great truths of God, these

two must be among the top. It’s amazing enough, a woman being

impregnated by the Holy Spirit; that she was a virgin (Matt. 1:23)

makes the miracle even more amazing. People all through the history

of the church have come up with all sorts of explanations for the birth

of Jesus other than what the texts say. Those who limit what they

believe only to what their senses can tell them or what past experience

has shown them or what modern science can explain to them will

have a very hard time with these texts and the great truths they con-

tain. Those, however, who trust in the power of God

(Luke 1:37, Heb.

11:6) and the truth of God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16) can accept the texts

for what they say, regardless of how little we can understand the

processes behind the tr

uth revealed in them. The just, after all, shall

live by faith

(Heb. 10:38), and what is faith other than belief in what

we can’t fully understand, and who can fully understand a sinful

human woman bearing in her womb the Son of God?

How

do these few texts (Gen. 1:2, Job 33:4, John 3:3-8, Rom. 8:11)

help us better understand the role of the Holy Spirit in the preg-

nancy of Mary and in the birth of Jesus?

____________________________________________________________________

However unfathomable the incarnation of Jesus, it’s not hard to

understand why the Holy Spirit Himself, One of the Godhead, would

be the acting Agent.

Who else other than God could perform such a

miracle? It’s hard to imagine an angel, or any inferior or created

being, as the causati

e agent in this incredib

le act.

What are some things in the natural world that you believe are

true b

ut don’

t fully understand? How do these examples help

you realize there are things about your faith you can believe in

but not understand either?

MONDAY

April 10

Anointed by the Spirit

What

do Matthew 3:16, 17; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:21, 22; and John

1:32-34 tell us about the role of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s min-

istry?

____________________________________________________________________

Though He was the spotless Son of God, the One who was with

God from the days of eternity (John 1:1-3), Jesus, in His human mani-

festation, was totally dependent upon the work of the Spirit in His life.

That is, in His humanity, He allowed Himself to be guided and

strengthened by the Holy Spirit.

Notice, too, at this scene that all three Persons of the Trinity were

manifested in a special way not always revealed in Scripture: The

Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost were all there. This fact alone

should tell us how significant the anointing and baptism of Jesus were.

Indeed, here, in a special way, began His work, not only for the redemp-

tion of humanity but for ending the great controversy with Satan.

What

do Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:12, and Luke 4:1 tell us about the con-

tinued work and role of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Christ?

____________________________________________________________________

Here, too, we are shown the influence of the Holy Spirit on the life

and mission of Christ. It was here, in the wilderness temptation, that

Christ went over the same ground that Adam did, only in a situation

much worse than Adam (after all, Adam had a full belly in paradise

while Jesus, with a growling empty stomach, was in a barren wilder-

ness). The three writers who wrote about the temptation all empha-

sized it was the Spirit, which had just fallen on Christ in a marked way

at His baptism, that had led Him into the wilderness. They also

expressly state, too, that it was Satan who had tempted Him.

In what ways have you faced your own “wilderness tempta-

tion”? Ho

w did you fare? What can you learn from Christ’s

experience that can help you with future temptations?

TUESDAY

April 11

Guided by the Spirit

“For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for

God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (John 3:34).

Today’s English Version lucidly renders this verse as follows: “The

one whom God has sent speaks God’s words, because God gives him

the fullness of his Spirit.”

What

is Jesus saying with those words? What do they tell us about the

influence of the Holy Spirit in His life? What should they tell us

about what the Holy Spirit should be doing in our lives?

____________________________________________________________________

Acts 1:1, 2 makes it plain that it was through the power of the Holy

Spirit that Jesus “had given commandments unto the apostles.” Here,

too, we have another clear reference to the dependence of Jesus upon

the power of the Holy Spirit in His life.

What

was Jesus’ main objective during His life on earth? John 4:34,

6:38, 8:29. How does this objective fit in with the work of the Holy

Spirit in His life?

____________________________________________________________________

“Jesus stood, with reference to His human nature, during all the

days of His humiliation, under the constant and penetrating operation

of the Holy Spirit. The Son, who lacked nothing, but as God in union

with the Father and the Holy Spirit possessed all things, compassion-

ately adopted our human nature. . . . Although He was the Son, He did

not take its preparation, enriching, and operation into His own hand,

but was willing to receive them from the hand of the Holy Spirit.”

—Abraham Kuyper,

The Work of the Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids,

Mich.:

Wm. B

. Eerdmans Pub

lishing Compan

, 1975), p. 96.

What changes do you need to make in your life so every word

ou speak could be done thr

ough the inf

luence of the Hol

Spirit? How different would your words be than they are now?

WEDNESDAY

April 12

Spirit-Directed Activity: Part 1

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed

me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the

brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recover-

ing of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to

preach the acceptable year of the Lord”

(Luke 4:18, 19).

you read the above text, focus on where Christ’s emphasis is. In

other words, though He’s talking about the Spirit of the Lord

being upon Him, how was that reality manifested in His life?

____________________________________________________________________

Jesus preached the gospel to the poor demoniacs (Mark 5:1-16); He

forgave fallen Mary Magdalene (see Luke 7:36-48, John 8:1-11) and

delivered her from captivity in sin; He restored sight to the physically

blind

(see Mark 10:46-52), as well as to the spiritually blind; He set at

liberty those who were bruised and proclaimed the acceptable year of

the Lord.

The Pharisees asserted that Jesus cast out devils through the power

of Beelzeb

ub. But He made it clear that He performed His miracles

through the power of the Spirit

(see Matt. 12:28). Jesus was depend-

ent on the power of the Spirit to perform His miracles during His

earthly ministry.

What

part did the Spirit play in Christ’s offering Himself as a ran-

som for our sins? Heb. 9:14.

____________________________________________________________________

How

did Peter sum up the Spirit-inspired ministry of Jesus? Acts

10:38.

____________________________________________________________________

None of us,

of cour

is J

esus.

But in what ways can we, if filled

with the Spirit, do some of the same things Jesus did

(John

14:12) for the benefit of others? How have you been able to,

under the po

er of the Spirit, do some of these same things?

THURSDAY

April 13

Spirit-Directed Activity: Part 2

“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,

that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but

quickened by the Spirit”

(1 Pet. 3:18; see also Rom. 1:4, 8:11).

God is one, but triune. The three Persons of the Trinity work

together. They are intimately united in Their work. Thus, although this

text says Jesus was raised from the dead by that Spirit, the other two

Persons of the Deity united in resurrecting Jesus.

Who

does the apostle Paul say raised Jesus from the dead? Gal. 1:1,

Eph. 1:17-20.

____________________________________________________________________

What

did Jesus Himself say about His resurrection? How does this

text help us understand all that was involved in His resurrection?

John 10:17, 18.

“Ov

er the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in tri-

umph, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’ These words could be spo-

ken only by the Deity. All created beings live by the will and power of

God. They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the high-

est seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the

Source of life. Only He who is one with God could say, I have power

to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again. In His divin-

ity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.”—Ellen

G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 785.

Although Paul spends little time on the events of Christ’s life, His

death and resurrection are constant themes in Paul’s letters. When

Paul speaks about what is of “first importance”

(1 Cor. 15:3, NIV) for

believers, it is that “Christ died for our sins according to the

Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day

according to the scriptures, and that he appeared” (vss. 3-5, NIV). No

wonder

, then, the Bible links all three Persons of the Godhead with

the resur

rection of Christ as it did with His baptism. It’

s of crucial

impor

tance to all that w

e belie

ve as Christians. Without that belief, as

Paul says, we have no hope

(vs. 17, NIV).

y is the r

esurrection of Jesus so important to us as Seventh-

day Adventists, especially with our understanding of the state of

the dead?

FRIDAY

April 14

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 72–74,

111–113, 122, 123; The Ministry of Healing, p. 479; Isaiah 58.

“Jesus is our example. . . . He lived to please, honor, and glorify His

Father in the common things of life. His work began in consecrating

the lowly trade of the craftsmen who toil for their daily bread. He was

doing God’s service just as much when laboring at the carpenter’s

bench as when working miracles for the multitude. And every youth

who follows Christ’s example of faithfulness and obedience in His

lowly home may claim those words spoken of Him by the Father

through the Holy Spirit, ‘Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine

Elect, in whom My soul delighteth.’ Isa. 42:1.”—Ellen G. White,

The

Desire of Ages,

p. 74.

Everything pertaining to Christ’s life on earth was accomplished by

the power of the Spirit: (1) His conception

(Luke 1:35); (2) His bap-

tism

(Luke 3:21, 22); (3) His justification; that is, the manifestation of

His righteous life

(1 Tim. 3:16); (4) His guidance in His life of service

(Luke 4:1; see also Luke 2:49); (5) His miracles (Matt. 12:28); (6) His

resurrection (1 Pet. 3:18). This reality powerfully points out the impor-

tance of the role of the Holy Spirit in the plan of salvation and our lives.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, talk about the incarnation of Jesus, about what it

means that God Himself would “come down” into our world and

then die for our sins. What hope does this great truth give us?

● According to Ellen White, stories were circulating about the

“illegitimate” birth of Jesus. What lessons are there for us today?

Do you know someone who is pregnant out of wedlock or has

made some similar mistakes? As a class, what can you do to help

that person, in contrast to just gossiping about the situation?

● In what practical ways can you, as a class, do for others the

kind of things Jesus did, such as visiting the sick or inviting peo-

ple to a meal? How are these types of acts visible expressions of

the Holy Spirit working in our lives?

tor

INSIDE

Darkness Meets Light

Anwhus Anwa

Ama was married to a dedicated Adventist man in central Ghana. But

a spirit of darkness entered Ama’s life and made life difficult for the

couple. From that day her husband never knew peace at home. Ama

fought with him and created much heartache. Because darkness and light

cannot live together, Ama did not want to see her husband anymore. Her

husband was convinced that Ama had a spiritual problem, and he could

do nothing but pray for her and endure her behavior. Divorce was not a

solution for him.

Ama decided to visit one of her daughters in the capital city of Accra.

Ama’s daughter encouraged her mother to go with her to a meeting at

church, and Ama went. Ama continued attending church services and

started studying the Bible. The church members fasted and prayed for

Ama, and she gave her life to Christ. She confessed how demons had

used her to bring her family pain and to disgrace God’s church.

On the day of her baptism, the pastor entered the river and motioned

for Ama to enter. He could see her struggling on the riverbank and real-

ized that the demons were forbidding her to enter the water. The deacons

tried to help her into the water, but she clung to them, as if fearful of

even touching the water. The pastor waded toward Ama and began pray-

ing aloud to Jesus. At the name of Jesus, the demons left Ama. She let

go of the deacons and waded into the water to be baptized. As others

witnessed the power of God in her life they, too, decided to follow Jesus.

Ama was eager to return to her husband as a born-again Seventh-day

Adventist Christian. She reconciled with her husband and testified of the

power of God to save her and deliver her from the demons that had tor-

mented her for so many years.

Ama’s home is peaceful now, filled with the songs of grace and truth

instead of harsh words of censure and angry shouts of accusation. And

her patient husband rejoices that his years of prayer and fasting, and his

faithfulness to his marriage vows has been rewarded.

Your mission offerings support the work in Ghana and throughout the

world, providing materials and literature to bring the light of God’s love

to searching men and women.

Anw

hus

Anw

a is a pastor in

Accra, Ghana, who baptized Ama.

oduced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:inf

o@ad

ventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*April 15-21

L ESSON

The Promise of the

Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This W

eek’s Study:

Exod. 31:3; Num. 11:25;

Isa. 6:1-7; 48:10; Ezek. 36:25-27; Mal. 3:2, 3; Matt. 3:11; Rom. 8:9;

2 Cor. 3:3; 5:17; 7:1.

Memory Text:

“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you

another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (John

14:16).

any Old Testament writers promised an outpouring of the

Spirit (Joel 2:28, 29). John the Baptist—the forerunner of

Jesus—informed the crowds that the One who would come

after him, the Messiah, would baptize the repentant with the Holy

Spirit and fire. However, the disciples of Jesus did not see the need of

the Spirit during Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was close to them. Why should

they need another?

Of course, Jesus wasn’t going to be around forever, at least in the

flesh. The plan of salvation called for Him to leave, to minister the

merits of His atonement in the sanctuary above before coming back

and claiming those bought with His blood.

Thus, He promised to send them His Spirit. The Spirit would be

their Guide and Comforter as they would not be able to follow their

belo

ved Master where He was soon to go.

The coming Comfor

ter was to be the disciples’ constant Companion.

He would sustain and comfort them in their loss and more than com-

pensate for their Friend’s departure. Yet, as we will see this week, the

promise of the Spirit was not only for them but for us, as well.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 22.

SUNDAY

April 16

The Promise of Water

“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be

clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I

cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will

I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your

flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit

within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall

keep my judgments, and do them”

(Ezek. 36:25-27).

Look

at the promises in the above text. What is God saying He will do

for His people? Though these were written to those in another

time, why are the principles behind these promises applicable for

us today, as well? See also Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:3; 5:17; 7:1; Gal.

5:16, 25; Eph. 5:26; 1 Thess. 4:3.

____________________________________________________________________

Ezekiel speaks of the Spirit under the symbol of water. By using the

emblem of water, the prophet presents the Spirit both as a cleansing

and life-giving Agent. Followers of Christ will have new lives, one in

which through the power of the Holy Spirit they are cleansed of filthi-

ness of the flesh and live a life of faith and obedience.

Thus, it’s clear from these texts that whatever the work of the Spirit,

it includes the process of sanctification. It includes a change of habits,

of actions, of words. Most important, it also includes a change of

heart.

Read

2 Corinthians 3:3. How does this text help explain what the

Holy Spirit will do in our lives?

____________________________________________________________________

Focusing on the above text, ask yourself this question: As an

“epistle of Christ,

” what’s my message to all who read me?

MONDAY

April 17

John the Baptist’s Promise

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that

cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy

to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire”

(Matt. 3:11).

“John proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, and called the people

to repentance. As a symbol of cleansing from sin, he baptized them

in the waters of the Jordan. Thus by a significant object lesson he

declared that those who claimed to be the chosen people of God were

defiled by sin, and that without purification of heart and life they

could have no part in the Messiah’s kingdom.”—Ellen G. White,

The

Desire of Ages, p. 104.

But John was keenly aware that his baptism would not suffice to fit

men and women to stand in the presence of God. More was needed

than a baptism with water. There was also the baptism of fire.

It’s very interesting how both water and fire are used as symbols of

the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s hard to think of two things that, in one

sense, are more opposite from each other than fire and water. And yet,

both are used to describe the actions of the Holy Spirit.

How

do these texts help us understand the fire image in regard to the

Holy Spirit?

Isa. 6:1-7; 48:10; Mal. 3:2, 3; Luke 12:49; Heb. 12:29.

____________________________________________________________________

Fire and water are two great natural purifying agencies, and it is

appropriate that both should be used to represent the regeneration of

the heart, the work of the Holy Spirit. And yet, fire acts very differ-

ently upon us than does water. They both might, in a spiritual sense,

accomplish the same thing, but the processes by which they work are

different. When we think of water, we often think of something sooth-

ing, refreshing, delightful; in contrast, though fire brings with it

warmth, it also implies trial

(1 Pet. 4:12), as well as pain and suffer-

ing. The image of a refiner’s fire is one that doesn’t express a process

that would be comfortable or pleasant. And that’s, no doubt, because

sometimes the work that needs to be done in us is like a refiner’s fire:

We have to be purged of sin; the dross has to be burned away.

What have been some trials “by fire” that brought about

impor

tant changes in your life? What did you learn from these

experiences that could be of benefit to others?

TUESDAY

April 18

The Spirit Not Yet Given

“On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood

up and said in a loud voice, ‘Whoever is thirsty should come to me

and drink. As the scripture says, “Whoever believes in me, streams

of life-giving water will pour out from his heart.” ’ ” Jesus said this

about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to

receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because

Jesus had not been raised to glory” (John 7:37-39, TEV).

When Jesus spoke these words, the Spirit as a dove had already

descended upon Him. An abundance of Old Testament references

indicate that the Holy Spirit had long been at work in behalf of

humanity. What then does John mean when he says “The Spirit had

not yet been given”?

Even though the Spirit had worked with men and women from the

entrance of sin, He had not come to earth in His fullness. That was not

to take place until Jesus had been glorified (see next week’s study).

Jesus was about to leave them, what promise did He give His disci-

ples with reference to His presence? Matt. 28:20; Acts 1:4, 5.

____________________________________________________________________

How

does John 16:7 help us understand Christ’s promises to remain

with us even unto the end of the world?

Christ’s departure would enrich the disciples and all believers rather

than impoverish them. While on earth, Jesus was geographically lim-

ited to one particular place at a time. While He was with the three dis-

ciples on the mountain, He could not be with the others at the foot of

the mountain. He was limited in space, as we are. But the Holy Spirit

was not to be cumbered with humanity or limited in space. Being

omnipresent, the Spirit is not confined by the limitation of a human

body. He is equally accessible to all everywhere. And it’s through the

presence of the Holy Spirit that Jesus remains with us, even to the end

of the world.

Go back and r

ead the te

xt written out at the top of toda

y’

s les-

son. Is there anyone you know from whom “streams of life-

ving w

ater” ha

e pour

ed out upon you? What was the person

like? How could you be more like him or her in those positive

areas?

WEDNESDAY

April 19

Jesus’ Promise

Shortly before His crucifixion, what did Jesus again promise

His disciples? What hope exists for us today in that promise (John

14:16)?

____________________________________________________________________

The word Jesus uses for “pray” in this verse has the basic meaning

of “to ask” or “to enquire.” In John’s writings it usually connotes a

person asking something from an equal.

This is the first direct promise made by Jesus to His disciples about

the coming of the Holy Spirit. Evidently, He is referring to the Day of

Pentecost. Yet, this was not the Spirit’s first appearance on the earth.

“Before this the Spirit had been in the world; from the very begin-

ning of the work of redemption He had been moving upon men’s

hearts. But while Christ was on earth, the disciples had desired no

other helper. Not until they were deprived of His presence would they

feel their need of the Spirit, and then He would come.”—Ellen G.

White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 669.

What

do these texts tell us about the influence of the Holy Spirit on

human beings prior to the coming of Christ? Exod. 31:3; Num.

11:25; 1 Sam. 10:6; Ps. 51:10, 11; Ezek. 36:25-27.

____________________________________________________________________

John 20:22 shows that before He left His disciples, Christ “breathed

on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” Again He

said “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you” (Luke

24:49). But not until after the Ascension was the gift received in its

fullness. Not until through faith and prayer the disciples had surren-

dered themselves fully for His working was the outpouring of the

Spirit received. Then, in a special sense, the goods of heaven were

committed to the followers of Christ. In other words, though Christ

gave them this wonderful promise, they had to be prepared to receive

it. Is it any different today for us?

We’re often told to pray for the Holy Spirit, but what must you

do in order to be prepared to receive it?

THURSDAY

April 20

Another Comforter

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18).

“Another Comforter” (John 14:16) was coming to take the place of

Jesus. Up to this time Jesus had been with the disciples and had been

their Helper in every emergency. But now another Person was coming

to take His place.

The Greek word translated “Comforter” is a compound word made

up of para, which means “alongside,” and kletos, which means “one

called.” Thus parakletos means “one called to stand alongside

another,” or one called to take his or her part to help another in any

emergency that arises. It has the meaning of “advocate” or “coun-

selor.”

Further, the same verb form is translated “exhort.” Thus, He is also

an “Exhorter.” In fact, this latter meaning is the prominent feature of

the work of the Spirit as outlined by John. He will “teach” and “bring

all things to your . . . remembrance” (John 14:26). He will testify of

Christ (John 15:26). He will “reprove the world of sin, and of right-

eousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). He will guide into all truth

and show things to come (vs. 13). He will glorify Christ and receive

from Him and impart to the disciples (vs. 14).

Yet, the Word also conveys the thought of a helper always at hand

with counsel, strength, exhortation, or whatever help is needed.

Though Jesus all but equates Himself with the presence of the Spirit,

it’s clear the Holy Spirit will do for them what Christ Himself would

do.

How

do these texts (1 John 3:24, 4:13) help us understand the work

of the Holy Spirit in our lives today?

____________________________________________________________________

The apostles and their fellow belie

vers were not to be left alone or

without help after Jesus ascended to hea

en. An all-adequate Helper

as to be with them. “By the Spirit, He said

, He w

ould manifest

Himself to them.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 670.

In w

hat w

ays have you experienced the reality of the Holy Spirit

as a Comforter? Be prepared to share your answer with the class.

FRIDAY

April 21

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 36,

40, 41, 52–54; The Desire of Ages, pp. 100–103, 668–672; Gospel

Workers, pp. 284–289.

“The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the per-

sonality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with

humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it

was for their interest that He should go to the Father, and send the

Spirit to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advan-

tage because of his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the

Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense He would

be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high.”—Ellen G.

White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 669.

“If we look to Jesus and trust in Him we call to our aid a power that

has conquered the foe on the field of battle, and with every temptation

He will make a way of escape. When Satan comes in like a flood, we

must meet his temptations with the sword of the Spirit, and Jesus will

be our helper and will lift up for us a standard against him.”—Ellen

G. White,

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 426.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, discuss your answers to Thursday’s final question.

● Do you know anyone going through a fiery trial right now?

Why not, as a class, get in touch with that person and let him or

her know your concern and ask whether there is anything the

class, as a group, could do to help?

● In what ways can we do some of the same work as the Holy

Spirit? That is, how can we comfort, exhort, or teach others? Are

we not, by doing these things, showing the reality of the Spirit in

our lives? What other ways can we manifest the presence of the

Holy Spirit? How does the work of the Holy Spirit in us harmo-

nize with all the Bible commands for loving others and minister-

ing to their needs?

tor

INSIDE

Sacrifice of Love

Ramesh Rathod

Mukam and his wife, Gimil, are rice farmers in India. They faithfully at-

tended their village church until religious trouble broke out in 1995 and several

churches were destroyed. Fearing more violence, the people closed the church.

In 2000 Mukam and Gimil learned that a group of Adventists planned to

hold evangelistic and health meetings in their village. The villagers provided

housing for the team members. Mukam and Gimil hosted several team mem-

bers in their small home.

Excited to hear gospel preaching again, Mukam and Gimil invited every-

one to attend the meetings. Between 300 and 400 people gathered to hear the

health lectures and spiritual messages. Mukam and Gimil were impressed

that these Christians had brought them a new understanding of God’s Word.

When leaders of other churches tried to convince Mukam to reject the

“heretic” Adventists, Mukam refused. “What have they taught that is against

the Bible?” he asked. The accusers could not answer, but they warned the

couple that they might lose their salvation if they listened to such “heresy.”

But Mukam and Gimil stood firm and were among the first 17 people who

prepared for baptism. Another 50 were baptized several months later, and the

group of believers has continued to grow.

The group needed a church, and Mukam offered part of his two-acre rice

paddy. Their home stood on the highest land, which sloped down to a creek

that sometimes flooded during heavy rains. When the pastor suggested that

the lowland was not suitable for a church, the couple asked for time to think

about what to do.

The next day the pastor returned to find Mukam and Gimil’s house gone.

“What happened?” he asked, shocked. Gimil explained that her relatives

helped her tear down their house to make room for the new church. With the

materials they had saved from their home, they built a lean-to on the side of

their son’s house nearby.

“It is our sacrifice of love to our God,” Mukam said. With help from the

conference, the members built a church that seats 200 people.

Adventist work is spreading quickly in this region of India. Mukam and

Gimil’s church has spa

wned three other churches in nearby villages. Several

new congregations have formed, and more villages have asked Adventists to

come and teach them God’s Word. Today 2,000 Adventists worship in four

churches and 20 companies in the area.

Our mission offerings help advance the work of Christ in India and around

the w

orld.

Ramesh Rathod is a district pastor in the Surat region of western India.

oduced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:info@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*April 22-28

L ESSON

The Promise Fulfilled

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Exod. 23:16; Mark 16:17;

John 4:35; 14:16-26; 16:7-13; Acts 1:4, 5, 14; 2:1, 2, 5-7, 22-35.

Memory Text:

“Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of

a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were

sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of

fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with

the Holy Ghost”

(Acts 2:2-4).

his week we read about one of the greatest and most important

events in salvation’s history: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at

Pentecost. This remarkable and phenomenal event came in fulfill-

ment of what the Lord had promised before He returned to heaven: that

these apostles and disciples would be “baptized with the Holy Ghost”

(Acts 1:5) and would be given “power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The

Holy Ghost came upon them as He had promised, and they began speak-

ing in other languages “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11). How

interesting and insightful that the first thing they did with this gift was

witness for their Lord. Of course, this was only the beginning of what the

Holy Spirit would do, and is still doing, for the Lord’s church.

As we will soon see, this great event didn’t happen in a vacuum. It

as the culmination of man

y other e

vents, all centering around the life,

death, resur

rection, and ascension of Jesus.

Among those e

ents, too,

was the Lord’s preparation of His people in order that they be ready to

recei

e this wonderful outpouring from heaven.

*Study this w

eek’

s lesson to pr

epar

e f

or Sabbath, April 29.

SUNDAY

April 23

Faith and the Promise

“Being assembled together with them, commanded them that

they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise

of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly

baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost

not many days hence”

(Acts 1:4, 5).

the above verses, Jesus talked about the promise that you “have

heard of me.” What promise is He talking about? See John 14:16-

26, 16:7-13.

____________________________________________________________________

According to Acts 1:4, the disciples were to remain or stay or even

sit in Jerusalem until the promise was fulfilled. The emphasis in the

command to “wait” or “sit” is upon the fulfillment of God’s promise

in due time. The waiting itself would not bring the Spirit. The word

translated “promise”—

epaggelia—as it is used in other parts of the

New Testament, stresses God’s grace rather than human effort. It is

God’s gift, received by faith.

Faith, of course, is a gift from God, as well

(Eph. 2:8), but there are

things believers can do in order to strengthen faith. It’s very foolish

and presumptuous to assume that just because we have been promised

faith that we will be given all we need, with no effort or cooperation

on our part. Great things are promised to those who have faith

(Rom.

5:1, Heb. 11:6), but faith is something believers must cherish, culti-

vate, and protect.

What are some practical ways in which we, even with a modi-

cum of faith, can cultivate that faith and create a personal envi-

ronment in which it can grow stronger? The following texts will

help provide answers

(Deut. 4:9; Ps. 119:1, 2; Col. 3:1, 2). What

other things can you think of that protect and even strengthen

faith? What works especially well for you personally?

____________________________________________________________________

MONDAY

April 24

Waiting as Preparation

Yesterday, we looked at the texts where Jesus told the disciples to

remain in Jerusalem, which is exactly what they did (Acts 1:12). Here

we see immediately one of the great principles of faith: obedience.

One can hardly expect the promises to be fulfilled in those who dis-

obey the Lord.

Read

Acts 1:14. What key element is found in this text that helps us

understand the attitude among the disciples that enabled them to

be ready to receive, as a group, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

See also Acts 2:1, 46.

____________________________________________________________________

There’s a story told about the great English Admiral Lord Nelson,

who, right before a major naval battle, took two feuding officers to a

place where they could see all the enemy ships amassed to make war

against them. “Yonder,” said the admiral, “are your enemies. Shake

hands and be friends like good Englishmen.” In other words, the

issues at stake were too great to let personal differences stand in the

way of victory.

In the same way, we can see here how important unity was among

these disciples, who, in the past, weren’t always united.

Read

Mark 9:33, 34 and Luke 22:24. What caused dissension

between the disciples in the past?

____________________________________________________________________

What the above texts from Acts show is that after the disciples had

come into unity and were no longer striving for the highest place, the

Spirit was poured out. They were of one accord. Differences had been

put away. They had a common goal, a common purpose much more

important than any and all personal quibbles. They had to work

through these things before they would be ready to work together

toward their common mission. “The multitude of them that believed

were of one heart and of one soul”

(Acts 4:32).

What are some of the things that work against unity in your

own local church? What can you do to be a unifying force in

our church?

TUESDAY

April 25

The Pentecostal Fulfillment

“When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with

one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from

heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house

where they were sitting”

(Acts 2:1, 2).

Pentecost is derived from a word that means “fiftieth,” a reference

to the 50 days between the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and

Pentecost—which is the Feast of the First Fruits. In this feast, the chil-

dren of Israel would present a wave offering of the wheat harvest to

the Lord, expressing their thankfulness for His material benefits to

them (Lev. 23:15-21).

Also, because the rabbis had concluded that 50 days after the

Exodus the Lord had given Israel the law at Sinai, the festival came to

be understood among the Jews as a memorial of Sinai, as well. In that

sense, it commemorated the founding of the 12 tribes of Israel as the

nation that had entered into a covenant relationship with the Lord, a

“kingdom of priests, and an holy nation”

(Exod. 19:6) that would

preach the truth about God to a world steeped in sin and idolatry. How

fitting that this feast day would represent a crucial phase in the found-

ing of the early Christian church, which also was called to preach the

truth about God to a world steeped in idolatry and sin.

Look

up Exodus 23:16 and John 4:35. How do these texts help us

understand the spiritual context of what was happening in Acts 2?

____________________________________________________________________

What’s fascinating, too, about this time is that of all the festivals,

Pentecost attracted the largest number of Jews from different lands.

Acts 2:5 talks about the devout Jews from “every nation under

heaven” who were there. What a perfect opportunity for the incred-

ible outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the early church in order that

it be ready to fulfill its mission to the world.

w do y

ou under

stand y

our o

wn role in the mission of the

church to preach the gospel to the world? What role are you

playing? What more could you do?

WEDNESDAY

April 26

Heaven and the Outpouring

Read

Acts 2:22-35 and then answer the following questions:

1. What contrast is Peter making there between David and Jesus?

What was his crucial point?

____________________________________________________________________

2. How central is Christ’s death and resurrection to Peter’s whole

speech?

____________________________________________________________________

3. What was the promise of the Father? (vs. 33).

____________________________________________________________________

4. What incredible event in heaven prompted this outpouring of

the Holy Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

“Christ’s ascension to heaven was the signal that His followers were

to receive the promised blessing. For this they were to wait before they

entered upon their work. When Christ passed within the heavenly

gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon

as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the

disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with

the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity. The

Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’s communication that the

Redeemer’s inauguration was accomplished. According to His prom-

ise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a

token that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven

and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people.”—Ellen G.

White,

The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 38, 39.

What does today’s study reveal to us about the close harmony

between heaven and earth? In what ways can you be more sen-

sitive to the reality of this close tie between heaven and earth?

What things might y

ou ha

e done in the past 24 hour

s that

showed a callousness toward the reality of this close link?

____________________________________________________________________

THURSDAY

April 27

The Gift of Language

Read

Acts 2:5-15. In what clear way does the Bible here explain the

meaning of the gift of tongues that accompanied the outpouring

of the Holy Spirit? What kind of languages were being spoken

here, and why is this answer important for us today?

____________________________________________________________________

Try to imagine the scene. Devout Jews from all over the then-

known world were assembled (as they did every year) for the great

festival, when suddenly—what happens? A bunch of Galileans,

known as rather rough rural types (not exactly the sophisticated elite

of Israel) suddenly start speaking in all these different languages!

What’s going on here?

One could imagine the consternation of those who suddenly heard

them speak in their own language. They were so baffled that at one

point

(Acts 2:13) someone accused them of being “full of new wine,”

a rather silly reply if you think about it. (After all, how many people

under the influence of alcohol suddenly start speaking in foreign lan-

guages that they never knew before?)

Along

with what’

s here in Acts 2, read Mark 16:17. How does that

verse help us understand what the gift of tongues meant?

____________________________________________________________________

It’s very clear from Acts 2, where the gift of tongues is first men-

tioned, that “tongues” is the Spirit-endowed ability to speak in foreign

languages. In fact, the word translated “tongue” (such as in 1 Corin-

thians 14) is

glossa, which means “language.” If we use the principle of

interpretation, in which difficult passages are interpreted on the basis of

simpler ones, then some of the more difficult texts that deal with

tongues

(1 Corinthians 14) need to be examined in light of what’s

clear—and it’

s clear that in

Acts 2 the gift of tongues w

as the ability to

speak in foreign languages. This point is important, especially in light

of the phenomenon now called “speaking in tongues,” in which people

believe their repetition of unintelligible utterances are a manifestation

of the Hol

y Spirit.

This is cer

tainl

y not w

hat happened w

hen the Holy

Spirit was poured out at Pentecost.

FRIDAY

April 28

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 30–37;

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 19–21; The Story of Redemption,

pp. 242–247.

“The Holy Spirit, assuming the form of tongues of fire, rested upon

those assembled. This was an emblem of the gift then bestowed on the

disciples, which enabled them to speak with fluency languages with

which they had heretofore been unacquainted. The appearance of fire

signified the fervent zeal with which the apostles would labor and the

power that would attend their work.”—Ellen G. White,

The Acts of the

Apostles, p. 39.

“Some of these persons have exercises which they call gifts and say

that the Lord has placed them in the church. They have an unmeaning

gibberish which they call the unknown tongue, which is unknown not

only by man but by the Lord and all heaven. Such gifts are manufac-

tured by men and women, aided by the great deceiver. Fanaticism,

false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have

been considered gifts which God has placed in the church. Some have

been deceived here.”—Ellen G. White,

Testimonies for the Church,

vol. 1, p. 412.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, read aloud Acts 1:14. What important elements

help bring about such unity among those who, in the past, had

been at variance with one another? What can you do, as a class,

to help your whole local church find the same kind of unity so

apparent in the early church?

● We saw how the disciples had to wait for the promise of the

Holy Spirit. Is there anyone in your class or church who is wait-

ing for a promise from God—of any kind? If so, what can you do,

as a class, to help keep this person or persons from being dis-

couraged as they wait? What can you do, in a practical way, to

help them not give up?

● The “tongues” phenomenon has been growing. Why not, as a

class, work together to create a good Bible study on this topic

that you could give to help anyone with questions about

“tongues”?

tor

INSIDE

The Little Warrior

Charlotte Ishkanian

Noelyne Mantari is a tiny woman, but she’s a mighty warrior for Jesus in

the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Noelyne works as a volunteer missionary, a lay woman who takes the

gospel commission seriously. She visits people in their homes, sometimes

even staying overnight to help a family through difficult times. Once the cri-

sis has passed, she teaches them a better way to live. Her work includes mar-

ital counseling and instruction on preparation of nutritious food. And, of

course, she prays for them and shares her love for God with them.

Noelyne’s husband, a member of another denomination, supports her in

her work. He often helps her carry out her ministries, prays with her, and

gives her funds to carry on her work as she needs them. Sometimes he

attends church with her.

Through her husband’s work as a high school teacher, Noelyne has met

the wives of many of the teachers at the school. She makes it a point to stay

in touch with these women and greets them at every opportunity. Before

long the wives comment on the peace and joy that radiates from Noelyne’s

countenance, and they ask her what makes the difference in her life. She

loves to tell them simply, “It’s Jesus.”

Many of the families she works with are Christian, though they some-

times do not attend church. Noelyne began organizing prayer bands among

the wives to pray for their husbands and the other teachers at the schools.

The women pray for their children as well. These prayer bands forge bonds

with the women, who then are open to learning more about healthful living

and how to prepare clean, nutritious food for

their families. And from there,

it is an easy step to sharing her faith principles.

She has seen that the wives pass on what they

have learned to their husbands.

In her simple way, Noelyne creates a conta-

gious atmosphere for Christian living in the

highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Our mission of

ferings help spread God’s

love around the world and provide literature

and services that help the church family grow

in strength and faith.

Noel

yne Mantari (left) shar

es her faith in the highlands

of Papua New Guinea.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:info@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*April 29–May 5

L ESSON

The Baptism of the

Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Acts 2:37, 38; 9:5, 6;

1 Cor. 12:1-13; 2 Cor. 7:9-11; Gal. 3:1-11; 5:5, 6.

Memory Text:

“Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but

be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

here’s been a great deal of speculation and argument in the

Christian church over the centuries about what the “baptism of

the Holy Spirit” means. It is clear from the few references in

Scripture that it deals with the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who

has been born again. Without the prompting of the Spirit, no one can

experience the new birth; those who have had that experience have

been baptized with the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 1:5, Jesus told His followers they would be baptized with

the Holy Spirit; the spectacular events of Pentecost ten days later

seem the obvious fulfillment of His words

(see Acts 2), when many

people accepted Christ and became born-again followers of the

Messiah.

One thing is sure: Anyone who has surrendered in faith and obedi-

ence to the Lord Jesus Christ has been baptized in the Hol

y Spirit. A

loving and lovable Christian, giving of himself or herself for others,

is the greatest manifestation of that baptism.

This week we’ll look at this promise for all who give of themselves

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 6.

SUNDAY

April 30

One Spirit, One Body

Read

1 Corinthians 12:1-13. What point is Paul making here, espe-

cially in verse 13?

Paul is dealing with a church that was fighting over spiritual gifts.

In response, Paul exclaims, “Don’t get divided over this issue.” Or, as

he specifically expressed it: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized

into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we

were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13, NASB).

The word translated “by” in the above verse (NASB) may also be

translated “in” (as in NEB, etc.). Thus, genuine believers are baptized

in one Spirit into the body of Christ (vs. 13), which is the church.

Whatever other points Paul wanted to make, one point is clear: All

believers share the reality of being baptized by the Spirit, and this

makes us part of the body of Christ, the church.

Baptism in the Spirit, or conversion, ideally precedes water bap-

tism. Baptism in water is an outward demonstration of the change that

has already taken place in the heart. The true believer is born by the

Spirit

(John 3:5, 6); the Spirit is the sealing Agent (Eph. 1:13, 14);

and the Spirit has been given as an earnest (guarantee) and reminder

that one belongs to God (2 Cor

. 5:5).

How

important is it that the Holy Spirit dwells in us? Rom. 8:9.

In personally accepting Jesus as our Savior, we receive the Spirit as

a heavenly endowment, or assurance, of ultimate and complete salva-

tion. His indwelling becomes our guarantee and constant reminder

that someday in the future Jesus will not merely dwell within us; we

shall dwell with Him and the unfallen angels in a realm where temp-

tation and sin will no longer touch us. In order to remind us constantly

of this ultimate deliverance from the realm of sin, He constantly gives

us His Spirit.

Every true believer since Pentecost has received the guarantee of

the Spirit, which is the same experience as baptism in the Spirit. The

important question for us is this: Ho

w willing are we to receive the

Spirit?

What is your understanding of what it means to be baptized in

the Holy Spirit? If someone were to ask, “Have you been bap-

tized in the Hol

y Spirit?” ho

w would you respond?

MONDAY

May 1

Guilt and the Spirit

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,

and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and

brethren, what shall we do?”

(Acts 2:37).

Look at the action depicted in the above text. If you read the verses

preceding it in Acts 2

(starting in verse 14), you can see clearly what

was going on here. Peter, quoting the Old Testament, preached to

them about the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. He was

giving them the plan of salvation.

Notice, too, their immediate response. Was it joy? Gladness?

Happiness? On the contrary, they were “pricked in their heart.” The

Greek verb means “to pierce,” and the idea given in the text is that

they were pained, they suffered, their consciences were troubled. And

no wonder, especially when you read verse 36. Of course, in one

sense, we are all just as guilty as these men in that it was the sins of

all of us that ultimately brought Jesus to the Cross.

Nevertheless, the idea here is clear: It was guilt, it was sorrow, it

was pain that helped bring them to where they needed to be.

Read

2 Corinthians 7:9-11. In your own words write what Paul is

saying here and how it relates to the experience of the Jews at

Pentecost.

____________________________________________________________________

In this context, it’s easier to understand Christ’s words, “Blessed are

the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

(Matt. 5:3).

However much the gospel is a message of joy, of peace, and of hope,

the process of salvation, of repentance, and of sanctification does

involve some suffering on our part

(Acts 14:22). Indeed, one of the

acts of the Holy Spirit is to bring to us conviction of sin (John 16:8),

and this can happen only to the degree that our hearts can be

“pierced” over the reality of just how sinful our lives have been.

w has the Hol

y Spirit br

ought con

viction to y

our heart?

What kind of feelings did you have? How has the Spirit been

able to use this conviction toward your own spiritual growth?

TUESDAY

May 2

Repentance and the Spirit

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one

of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and

ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”

(Acts 2:38).

Though Peter here promises the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who

repent and are baptized, it’s only through the working of the Holy

Spirit that they could be brought to repentance. Thus, we can see here

the reality of the Holy Spirit working in every stage of a person’s rela-

tionship to his or her Creator. Theologians sometimes refer to this as

“common grace.”

Repentance is a change of mind and life. The words for “repent-

ance” in both Hebrew and Greek involve the idea of change, espe-

cially a change of mind and direction. It is acknowledgment that one

has been wrong, an acknowledgment that leads not only to sorrow but

to a change, a turn to the Source of life and moral understanding.

Repentance, true repentance

(2 Cor. 7:10), is powerful evidence that

a person has been touched by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Read

Romans 2:4, along with John 15:26 and 16:13, 14. How do

these texts help us understand the role of the Holy Spirit in bring-

ing us repentance?

____________________________________________________________________

The Holy Spirit is Christ’s Representative here on earth. Only

through His work of revealing to us the truth about Christ can a per-

son be brought to conviction and, hence, to true repentance. Only

through the power of the Spirit can we be moved to make the con-

scious choice to surrender our sinful ways and live in submission to

the Lord. By revealing to us the love of God, the Spirit touches us and

gives us the only true motive for wanting to serve God: a grateful

heart that loves a God who first loved us

(1 John 4:10).

True love for God, however, cannot be forced. The Spirit comes and

touches us; we have the freedom to surrender to His convictions or to

push them away. In the end, the choice is ours, and ours alone.

Write out a paragraph explaining your own experience with

repentance. Where were you when you first felt conviction? What

was your immediate reaction? How did you finally respond?

What chang

es took place? Be prepared to share your response

with the class.

WEDNESDAY

May 3

Obedience and the Spirit

Read

again Acts 2:37, the reaction of these Jews to Peter’s witness.

What was their response? Compare this response with Saul’s

response

(Acts 9:5, 6). In both cases, what immediate evidence

shows that their conversion was genuine?

____________________________________________________________________

“We are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost,

whom God hath given to them that obey him” (Acts 5:32). As this text

suggests, obedience is one of the prerequisites for receiving the Holy

Spirit. However much we are saved by faith, it’s only Christ’s right-

eousness credited to us that saves us from the final consequences of

sin. We cannot live in disobedience to the Lord. The Spirit was given

to bring conviction to us, a conviction that will lead us to obedience.

Anything else is a counterfeit.

Look

up the following texts. What do they tell us about the role of the

Spirit and obedience?

Acts 16:7

____________________________________________________________________

Gal. 5:5, 6

____________________________________________________________________

Gal. 5:22-26

____________________________________________________________________

1 Pet. 1:2

____________________________________________________________________

When here, Jesus admonished His followers to obey God, to walk

in the commandments, to love and forgive one another as God loves

and forgi

ves us. How foolish to believe that the Holy Spirit, which is

here in His place, w

ould admonish us in an

y other way. Those who

claim “baptism of the Hol

y Spirit” and use, for instance, “speaking in

tongues” as proof of that baptism yet live in disobedience to God’s

commandments are fooling themselves. The greatest proof of living

y the Spirit is a life li

ved in faith and obedience to God.

THURSDAY

May 4

Faith and the Spirit

As we saw yesterday, those who yield to the influence of the Holy

Spirit will be brought into what Paul calls “the obedience of faith”

(Rom. 16:26). However, because those who are saved in Christ obey,

and because salvation is inseparable from obedience, people can eas-

ily slip into the trap of confusing the results of salvation (obedience)

with the means of salvation (faith in Christ). This was a problem with

the Galatians.

Read

Galatians 3:1-11. What issue is Paul addressing here? What

concern does he express for the Galatians? Note particularly the

role he gives to the Spirit in these texts.

____________________________________________________________________

The Holy Spirit was to lead people into “all truth” (John 16:13); the

center of “all truth” is, of course, Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor.

2:2). The greatest and most impor

tant of all truths is that Jesus Christ

died for the sins of the world, that at Calvary He paid the penalty for

all human sin, and that anyone can, by faith, be forgiven his or her sin

and stand perfect before God. Central to this truth is that no works any

human can do, even works of the law, can atone for his or her sins and

bring forgiveness

(Rom. 3:20, Gal. 2:16). This forgiveness and atone-

ment come only through the work of Jesus and become effective in

the life of those who believe; that is, those who claim it for them-

selves by faith

(Gal. 3:5, 6). Thus, the same Holy Spirit who guides

us toward obedience is the same one that helps us understand the

great truth of salvation by faith alone. It’s obvious the Galatians were

somehow losing sight of this great truth.

Notice, too, the crucial role Paul attributes to the Holy Spirit here

(Gal. 3:2-5) and how Paul so closely links the Holy Spirit coming to

the people through their faith, as opposed to their works of the law.

What ar

e some of the subtle tr

aps of legalism we can easily fall

into? Ho

w can w

e pr

otect our

selv

es fr

om these traps?

____________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY

May 5

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 41–46,

50; Christian Service, pp. 252–255; Patriarchs and Prophets,

pp. 283–287, 290, 632–634; Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 444;

vol. 7, pp. 211, 212; Exodus 14.

“Let Christ work by His Holy Spirit, and awaken you as from the

dead, and carry your minds along with His. Let Him employ your fac-

ulties. He has created your every capability that you may better honor

and glorify His name. Consecrate yourself to Him, and all associated

with you will see that your energies are inspired of God, that your

noblest powers are called into exercise to do God’s service. The facul-

ties once used to serve self and advance unworthy principles, once

serving as members of unrighteous purposes, will be brought into

captivity to Jesus Christ and become one with the will of God.”—Ellen

G. White,

Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 396.

“We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”—Ellen G. White,

Evangelism, p. 66.

Discussion Questions:

● Share your answers to Tuesday’s final question with the class.

What can you learn from one another’s responses?

● As a class, read together Luke 11:11-13. Then talk about what

it was like when you gave someone you cared about a gift that

you knew they would really like. How did it make you feel? Why

were you so eager to give it? What good would it do for the per-

son you gave it to? With those thoughts in mind, what can we

learn about the promise of the Holy Spirit offered to us?

● As a class, see whether you can get some time before the les-

son study to prepare a small presentation for Sabbath School on

what the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” means. Anticipate as

much as possible beforehand what questions people in the

church might have regarding this topic and be prepared to

answer them.

tor

INSIDE

Long Road to Peace

Andrei Skvortsov

Andrei grew up in an atheist home in Russia. While in university he

sensed an emptiness in his life and began reading philosophy and history.

One book he read contained many quotations from the Bible. Maybe

Christianity holds the answers I am searching for, he thought. He visited

churches and monasteries, but the ceremonies did not lead him to God.

He yearned to find someone to answer his questions.

He found a New Testament in a shop and bought it, though it cost him

almost a week’s wages. He started reading, but Matthew’s “begats” puz-

zled him. If only he knew someone who could explain the Bible to him.

But before he found anyone, he was drafted into the army.

He was sent to Siberia, 3,000 miles from home. He felt lonely and out

of place. Then he met a Christian soldier who gave Andrei another New

Testament. Andrei began reading again, but when he asked his friend

questions, the soldier replied, “Just keep reading.”

The military was a bitter experience after the fall of Communism.

Soldiers were beaten for little or no reason, and many deserted their posts

or tried to commit suicide. Andrei’s commander learned of his interest in

religion and made life as difficult as he could. Often Andrei was beaten

for refusing to hurt a fellow soldier or for crimes he did not commit. But

Andrei sensed God’s presence guiding and saving him.

When his military duty ended, Andrei returned to Moscow. He bought a

Bible and spent many nights reading it. His aunt learned of his spiritual

interest and invited him to attend evangelistic meetings with her. There he

found answers to his deepest questions.

Then he learned his mother had brain cancer, and he hurried to her hos-

pital bed. His father, desperate for help, asked Andrei to find a psychic

healer who would cure his mother. Andrei knew this was wrong, so he

offered to ask a pastor to pray for her. He brought a pastor from the evan-

gelistic meetings to pray for his mother. The pastor explained the impor-

tance of faith in God and God’s power to heal. Then he prayed for her.

Andrei’s mother underwent surgery and recovered with no permanent

side effects. Andrei was convinced that the pastor’s prayers of faith had

brought about this miracle, and soon he w

as baptized. He hopes that his

parents, who sometimes attend church with him, will surrender their

hearts to the Great Physician.

Andr

ei Skvortsov is a computer technician and local elder in Moscow, Russia.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:inf

o@ad

ventistmission.or

g website:www.adventistmission.org

blank

Your weekly Mission Offering supports life-changing projects around the

world. For more information, or to give your Mission Offering online, visit

www.adventistmission.orgwww.adventistmission.org

Felipe de Sousa Pequeno had a choice to make. Participate

with his mother in Candomblé, a traditional religion that

involves Christianity and spiritism, or attend Petrópolis

Adventist Academy. He chose Petrópolis and Jesus over

spiritism. Now he is sharing his faith with his mother and

grandmother. The school is growing and needs additional

classroom and dormitory space.

Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering

this quarter will go to Brazil to help

expand Petrópolis and Espírito Santo

Adventist Academies, so there is

room for others who choose to come.

A choice to

make

*May 6-12

L ESSON

Gifts of the

Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark

16:15; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:7-25; Eph. 4:11.

Memory Text:

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I

would not have you ignorant.” “Now there are diversities of gifts,

but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:1, 4).

he New Testament introduces spiritual gifts as an endowment

from Christ and imparted by the Holy Spirit. Though the Spirit

is one, the gifts, or the manifestations of the Spirit, are many

and diverse. These gifts of grace (charismata) are presented primarily

in three different passages: Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12 through

14, and Ephesians 4:7-13. Probably even these examples, taken

together, are not exhaustive but rather illustrative of spiritual endow-

ments. These gifts were promised to the church when Jesus ascended

to heaven

(Eph. 4:8, 11).

No one individual in the church should expect to receive all the

gifts of the Spirit. Neither should all the members expect to receive

the same and identical gift or gifts. The New Testament likens the

church, in which the manifestations of the Spirit appear, to the human

body: different parts, doing different functions, yet all working

gether for a common goal.

This week we’ll take a look at some of these gifts and how they are

manifested in the church.

*Study this w

eek’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 13.

SUNDAY

May 7

The Church as the Body

Read

1 Corinthians 12:7-25 and then answer the following questions:

1. For what reason is the Spirit given to the church?

____________________________________________________________________

2. What seems to be Paul’s main concern here?

____________________________________________________________________

3. What is the role of the Spirit as depicted by Paul?

____________________________________________________________________

4. What point was Paul making through his use of the human

body as an analogy for work of the Spirit in the church?

____________________________________________________________________

Through the Spirit we have been born again and become members

of the body of Christ. Through the rite of baptism by immersion we

then joined a local church. However, the members of the body of

Christ, or of the church, are no more alike than are the different

organs of the body. It’s very important not to try to make each one a

carbon copy of another. We should rejoice in our diversity of gifts.

Nevertheless, just as all the organs are part of the same body and

serve a very definite purpose in it, the church we have joined will not

be complete or constitute a body without all its different members.

That’s because, like a human body, we need these different parts; we

need different people who can do different things.

At the same time, too, diversity is not the same as disunity. As

Paul’s analogy shows, though the parts of the body are different, look

different, and work differently, they are all working in unity for a

common purpose. All the work done for the Master by different peo-

ple with different gifts is to be connected with the great whole.

In your own experience, what’s the greatest cause of disunity

among us? Is it because we are all different and have different

gifts, or is it because of something else? If so, what?

____________________________________________________________________

MONDAY

May 8

Wisdom and Knowledge

“For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to

another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another

faith by the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:8, 9).

How interesting that in the above text, the “word of wisdom” and the

“word of knowledge” are seen as gifts of the Spirit. We often tend to

think of those as acquired, what we learn through study and/or through

the toils and lessons of life. Yet, the two ideas are not in contradiction.

Some people can read and study and go through life and come away

with no real “knowledge” or “wisdom,” at least as the Bible defines

those things (Prov. 1:7, 9:10). Thus, we need the Holy Spirit to give us

knowledge and wisdom, as the Bible defines those words.

How

does 2 Timothy 3:7 help us understand the need of the Spirit

for biblical wisdom and knowledge?

____________________________________________________________________

It’s sad, but true, that through history some of the “greatest” Bible

scholars didn’t believe the truths of the Bible. They might have been

world-renowned experts in the original languages and maybe even

have been unsurpassed in their knowledge of biblical history. But the

spiritual wisdom and knowledge about God found in those texts was

completely lost on them. What a waste!

Read

1 Corinthians 2:5-7. What is the wisdom referred to here?

Why do we need the Spirit to know it?

____________________________________________________________________

Look at the contrast Paul puts between different kinds of knowl-

edge and wisdom. Notice, too, how he contrasts the wisdom of the

world with the “power” of God. That’s important, because the wisdom

of God is life-changing. It brings power and change in our lives; it’s

not just facts and propositions. It’s a life-changing power that comes

only from the Holy Spirit working in us. This is something all worldly

knowledge and wisdom can never perform.

What kind of knowledge has changed your life? What kind

hasn’t? What can you learn from your answers?

TUESDAY

May 9

Miracles and Healings

The gifts of the Spirit will remain in the church until Jesus returns.

This includes the gift of healing, as well as the gift of working mira-

cles

(1 Cor. 12:8-10). Yet, we do not regard it appropriate for a

Christian to refuse medical help, expecting God to heal a person’s

disease by a miracle without his or her having done anything to rem-

edy the condition. God does not use miracles extravagantly or use-

lessly. “What human power can do divine power is not summoned to

do.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 535.

1 Corinthians

12:10 talks about “the working of miracles.” How

are we to understand what this means?

____________________________________________________________________

Miracles, someone once said, are deemed miracles only because of

their infrequency. If, for instance, the sun rose only once every thou-

sand years, those who saw it would believe they had witnessed a mira-

cle. Because we see it rise all the time, we deem it just an ordinary

occurrence—despite how “miraculous” it really is. Imagine someone

who never before saw a cell phone in his or her life: How miraculous

it would seem to that person to actually hear a voice come through this

little box!

What

are some other “common” things that, under other circum-

stances, might be deemed “miraculous”? What can we learn from

these that can help us better understand the nature of miracles?

____________________________________________________________________

While “miracles,” no doubt, can strengthen our faith, a faith that

depends upon them is no real faith at all

(Luke 16:31). Perhaps some of

us have seen what could be deemed “miracles”; maybe for others, the

greatest “miracle” is the change in their life brought about by the power

of God working in them. Though the Holy Spirit can, in His divine wis-

dom, perform miracles (see Matt. 12:28) whenever He chooses, the

manifestation of “miracles” is no proof God is working any more than

the lack of “miracles” is proof God is not present with us.

What miracles has God wrought in your life? Be prepared to

shar

e your answers with the class.

WEDNESDAY

May 10

Prophecy and Government

Read

Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28; and Ephesians 4:11.

What one gift is mentioned in each of these sections?

A prophet is a spokesperson for God. Even after ancient Israel

became a monarchy, it was the prophet who received messages and

instruction from God. These he or she was to convey to the king. The

prophet, consequently, is God’s spokesperson to the people as the

minister is humanity’s spokesperson to God. The content of the mes-

sage is not primarily predictive but may be any message that God

desires to give His people at any particular time, whether it pertains

to the past, the present, or the future. The church of God today, as in

days of old, needs instruction from God. The principal agent by which

this instruction is given is the prophet.

addition to prophets who receive instruction from God, what is

needed in the church to execute the relayed divine plans in effi-

cient administration?

1 Cor. 12:28.

The Re

vised Standard Version translates “administrators” instead of

“governments.” Although the gospel work is God’s, some human

agent must direct it under God’s guidance.

What

instances in the apostolic church indicate that God works through

appointed agencies in His organized church?

Acts 9:10-17, 13:1-3.

“The circumstances connected with the separation of Paul and

Barnabas by the Holy Spirit to a definite line of service show clearly

that the Lord works through appointed agencies in His organized

church. Years before, when the divine purpose concerning Paul was

first revealed to him by the Saviour Himself, Paul was immediately

afterward brought into contact with members of the newly organized

church at Damascus. . . . And now, when the divine commission given

at that time was to be more fully carried out, the Holy Spirit, again

bearing witness concerning Paul as a chosen vessel to bear the gospel

to the Gentiles, laid upon the church the work of ordaining him and

his fello

w laborer

”—Ellen G.

White,

The

Acts of the

Apostles,

pp. 162, 163.

Why has God committed the direction of His work on earth to

His chur

ch r

ather than primaril

y la

ying the b

den on solitary

individuals?

THURSDAY

May 11

Tongues (Revisited)

“The gift of tongues, as prophecy and miracles, has a counterfeit.

The original gift on the day of Pentecost consisted of perfectly spo-

ken human languages. Uttering sounds that cannot be identified with

any human language is not a perversion of but a counterfeit of the

genuine.”—

Handbook of SDA Theology, vol. 12, p. 619.

As we saw in an earlier lesson, it seems clear that “tongues” men-

tioned here denotes foreign languages, because that was clearly the

way the gift was manifested at Pentecost and on subsequent recorded

occasions (see Acts 2, 10:44-46, 11:15, 19:6).

Why

should the gift of tongues be so important to the early church?

Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15; Rom. 1:8.

____________________________________________________________________

In the early church there was a need for the gift of tongues, or a

mastery of foreign languages. The gospel had to be communicated to

the world, and most of the postascension Christians did not possess a

command of foreign languages.

Who

spoke mor

e often in tongues than anyone else?

1 Cor. 14:18.

What do you think he meant by this statement?

____________________________________________________________________

In his evangelization among the heathen, Paul constantly had to use

a tongue other than his native Aramaic—the common language of the

Jews in the day of Jesus and the apostles. Corinth was a large seaport

and commercial city with people from many parts of the Roman

Empire. It seems that some in the Corinthian church boastfully used

languages that some other members could not readily understand.

Paul admonished them not to do so, unless they had an interpreter,

since no one in the cong

ation, other than the speak

, could be edi

fied by it

(see 1 Cor. 14:4).

What are some types of counterfeits you have encountered or

kno

wn a

bout?

What can y

ou lear

n fr

om them that can help pro-

tect you from other spiritual counterfeits you might face?

FRIDAY

May 12

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2,

pp. 33–35; vol. 5, pp. 236–238; Christ’s Object Lessons, “Hidden

Treasure,” pp. 112–114; The Great Controversy, pp. 624, 625; The

Acts of the Apostles, pp. 160–165; Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and

Students, pp. 243–245.

“Paul taught that the gifts—including prophecy, teaching, apostle-

ship, evangelism, speaking in tongues, and working of miracles—

were to be exercised by Christians from all walks of life. From his let-

ter to the Corinthians it is evident that some misused them, especially

that of speaking in tongues.

“While in some quarters great significance is attached to speaking

in tongues, the NT makes it clear that other gifts are more important to

the well-being of the church. Paul recommends the gift of prophecy as

the most desirable. Therefore, a major portion of this article is given to

a discussion of this gift.”—

Handbook of SDA Theology, vol. 12,

p. 610.

“The Jews had been scattered to almost every nation, and spoke

various languages. . . . This diversity of languages was a great obsta-

cle to the labors of God’s servants in publishing the doctrine of Christ

to the uttermost parts of the earth. That God should supply the defi-

ciency of the apostles in a miraculous manner was to the people the

most perfect confirmation of the testimony of these witnesses for

Christ.”—Ellen G. White,

The Story of Redemption, pp. 242, 243.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, talk about your answers to Tuesday’s final question.

What is your understanding of just what a “miracle” is? What

does the reality of miracles do for your faith? What danger is

there in relying on miracles for faith?

● As a class, talk about the role and ministry of Ellen White and

the gift of prophecy. How does the manifestation of this gift help

us understand what the purpose of spiritual gifts in general

should be for the church?

● Talk about the spiritual gifts of the members of the class.

What can you do to help affirm one another in those gifts, as well

as help one another put them to good use?

tor

INSIDE

The Students Wouldn’t Quit

Rosa Marten

The Adventist seminary in Cuba stands near a poor barrio (neighbor-

hood) outside of Havana. A high crime rate in the area has left the peo-

ple suspicious of strangers. So when some young people arrived in the

barrio, people told them to get out and not come back.

The visitors were seminary students who had come to share God’s

love, and they were not willing to let the neighbors’ comments discour-

age them. They prayed fervently for God’s leading and tried again. They

invited the children to sing songs and hear stories about Jesus. And the

children came.

The parents were amazed at the changes they saw in their children,

and they invited the seminary students to return.

The students met a woman named Anita, who was willing to study the

Bible with them. A group of students began visiting her regularly. When

her husband became sick, the students prayed with him.

Anita’s relatives warned her that reading the Bible was bad luck, and

when her husband became sick they said, “We told you so.” But he

accepted Jesus as his Savior and urged Anita to be faithful. When he

died, the students comforted Anita with Bible promises and cried and

prayed with her.

Anita wanted to keep the Sabbath, but she feared losing her job in a

factory. Finally she decided to keep the Sabbath and be baptized. She

says that the love of the seminary students had drawn her to Christ. Anita

has filled her once-empty life with activities in the church, including

helping with children’s ministries and outreach to her neighbors. When

she met a family who wanted to know more about Jesus, she introduced

them to the seminary students and opened the way for the family to

come to church.

Anita has opened her home as a

casa culto, or house church, for

neighborhood worships. Her friends say that Anita sought Christ in the

darkest time of her life, and now she shines as a light to those around

her

Your generous mission offerings each week support a wide variety of

outreach around the world.

Rosa Marten (not her real name) has completed her studies at the Adventist seminary and

is w

orking as a Bible worker in Cuba.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:inf

o@ad

ventistmission.or

g website:www

.ad

ventistmission.org

*May 13-19

L ESSON

The Fruit of the

Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Isa. 53:3, John 3:16,

15:13, Rom. 5:5, 1 Corinthians 13, Eph. 2:8, Phil. 4:11-13, 1 John

3:16, 4:8.

Memory Text:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-

suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:

against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23).

e are saved only through what Jesus Christ accomplished

for us on the cross two thousand years ago. As Peter

expressed it: “But we believe that through the grace of the

Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:11). Or

Paul: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your-

selves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast”

(Eph. 2:8, 9). Or Ellen White: “There is not a point that needs to be

dwelt upon more earnestly, repeated more frequently, or established

more firmly in the minds of all than the impossibility of fallen man

meriting anything by his own best good works. Salvation is through

faith in Jesus Christ alone.”—Ellen G. White,

Faith and Works, p. 19.

Yet, no Christian who enjoys the promise of salvation through Jesus

can live without bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Matt. 12:33), the day-

y-da

y manifestation in our li

es of what Christ has done for us. We

can profess all the sacred truths in heaven and earth, but the best evi-

dence that we are in Christ is the fruit we bear.

This week we’ll take a look at what this fruit is and what it should

mean for our li

es.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 20.

SUNDAY

May 14

Love

“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed

abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”

(Rom. 5:5).

Why

do you think Paul listed love as the first of the “fruit of the

Spirit” in Galatians 5:22? See 1 Corinthians 13.

____________________________________________________________________

A certain type of tree in the temperate zone inevitably and sponta-

neously produces leaves in the spring as the sap begins to rise in the

trunk and reaches out into every branch and twig. In the same way, a

Christian filled with the Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit—love.

Jesus is God. As there is no life apart from God, so there is no love

or virtue apart from God. If a human is going to possess and manifest

divine love, he or she must receive it from God. There is no other

source. Where else would it come from if not from above? Can

beings—who are only protein, carbon, water, or even only atoms and

molecules—express love? How can these elements, no matter how

finely tuned, ever be able to love? No matter how good a painter is,

no matter how perfect his or her paints and can

vas, no flower that per-

son paints will ever live or do photosynthesis or grow a seed. Carbon,

water, and protein, in and of themselves, can’t even live, much less

love. Love has to come from a source that in and of itself knows love

and can impart it. And that source, of course, is God

(see 1 John 4:8).

A crucial question, though, needs to be answered: What do we

mean by “love”? The word itself has been so broadened and, hence,

cheapened until it covers a multitude of acts and emotions that hardly

do justice to the term. Scripture, however, gives verses that help us

understand the biblical concept of love as a fruit of the Spirit.

Read

John 3:16, 15:13, and 1 John 3:16. What’s the crucial factor

here that helps us understand the nature of love, as depicted in

the Scriptures? How, too, does this idea help us understand why

“the love of God . . . shed abroad in our hearts”

(Rom. 5:5) comes

from the Hol

y Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

MONDAY

May 15

Joy and Peace

The idea of joy and peace as fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23) is

susceptible to misinterpretation. Our world is a sinful world; we are

sinful beings, each one of us suffering the effects of sin: sickness,

loss, separation, fear, worry, uncertainty . . . the list goes on. No one,

even a Christian, is immune to the painful struggles that afflict us in

a fallen world. Jesus suffered; we are going to, as well.

And yet, as Christians, there should be a difference. Unlike many

people who attribute pain and suffering to the mindless and purpose-

less forces of nature or to pure chance or to anger of evil spirits, we

should, day by day, live with the constant knowledge that we serve not

only a living God but a loving God and that this God not only knows

our troubles but loves and cares about us and our woes. After all, as a

human, He has known plenty of woe Himself

(Isa. 53:3, Mark 15:15,

John 11:35, Heb. 4:15, 1 Pet. 4:1). Thus, we can know that whatever

happens, if we stay faithful, whatever our mistakes, whatever our

shortcomings, God loves us and promises to see us through it all. God

also promises us an eternity in bliss. This realization should give us

joy and peace that will enable us to better endure whatever difficult

circumstances we find ourselves in now.

We must remember, too, that as fruit of the Spirit, joy and peace

aren’t the same as always feeling happy; instead, joy and peace are

what comes from knowing—even though we aren’t feeling happy or

if circumstances aren’t good—that God is close and promises to get

us through whatever happens.

How

do the following texts help us understand why we should have,

if not always happiness, joy and peace in our lives as Christians,

regardless of our tight circumstances? Matt. 6:31, 32; Rom. 8:28;

Phil. 4:11-13; 1 John 4:8; Rev. 21:4.

____________________________________________________________________

Dwell on the above texts (and any other relevant ones you can

think o

f ). If you know anyone who is struggling right now, share

these texts with that person.

TUESDAY

May 16

Long-Suffering

Another one of the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5 is “longsuf-

fering.” It comes from a Greek word that means, basically, “patience,”

“endurance,” “constancy,” “steadfastness,” and “slowness in avenging

wrongs.”

what ways is the practice of long-suffering a reflection of the char-

acter of God? Exod. 34:6, Rom. 2:4.

How

do the following examples reveal to us the long-suffering of God?

Gen. 15:16

____________________________________________________________________

Isa. 5:1-5

____________________________________________________________________

Hos. 11:8

____________________________________________________________________

Rev. 2:21

____________________________________________________________________

“Long-suffering bears something, yea, many things, without seek-

ing to be avenged by word or act.

“ ‘Long-suffering’ is patience with offence; long endurance. If you

are long-suffering, you will not impart to others your supposed knowl-

edge of your brother’s mistakes and errors. You will seek to help and

save him because he has been purchased with the blood of Christ. . . .

To be long-suffering is not to be gloomy and sad, sour and hardhearted;

it is to be exactly the opposite.”—Ellen G. White,

My Life Today, p. 52.

Our patience and long-suffering with others should stem, at least

partly, from our realization of God’s patience and long-suffering with us.

Imagine if God treated each of us as we often treat one another!

Fortunately He doesn’t, and the fact that He is exceedingly patient with

us and our faults means we should be patient with others and their

faults. As we look in the mirror and see ourselves for what we are and

know that God loves and endures with us despite what we see in the mir-

ror, we will be better able to truly manifest this fruit of long-suffering. In

and of ourselves, we can’t do it; only as we surrender our will to God

and keep before us the Cross and what it represents about God’s long-

suffering toward us will we bear the same fruit in our own lives.

How long-suffering have you been with someone who has

recently frustrated you, someone who is “hard to love”? What

chang

es do y

ou need to mak

e in or

der to tr

eat him or her as

Christ treats you? What’s the only way to be able to do it?

WEDNESDAY

May 17

Gentleness and Goodness

Write

out your definition of what you understand as “gentleness and

goodness.” What is a person like who reflects these two fruit of the

Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

It’s interesting, too (if you haven’t already noticed), how the fruit of

the Spirit all reflect aspects of the character of Jesus. Go back over

what we’ve looked at so far regarding the fruit of the Spirit: In each

case, these attributes are all found in Jesus. Thus, when we look at

Christ, we can see the greatest revelation possible of goodness and

gentleness, because as God, Jesus reflected these traits perfectly.

Thus, as we can see, the more we manifest the fruit of the Spirit, the

more we will be like Jesus.

back through the Gospels and pick out one example of where you

see Jesus exhibiting specifically “goodness” and an example of

where He was exhibiting specifically “gentleness.” What can you

learn from each of your examples?

Goodness

____________________________________________________________________

Gentleness

____________________________________________________________________

If, for instance, you took the story of Jesus’ fast in the wilderness

(Matt. 4:1-11), you would see an aspect of goodness in His denial of

self for the good of others. Or if you took the example of Jesus with

the woman at the w

ell (John 4:5-42) or with the woman tak

en in adul-

ter

y (J

ohn 8:3-11),

ou sa

w an example of gentleness consisting of

treating people, e

en those w

ho ha

e done wrong, with cour

tesy and

respect.

Go back o

er the examples you chose. What can you learn from

them about changes you need to make in your own life?

THURSDAY

May 18

Faith

Read

Ephesians 2:8.What does it tell us about where faith comes from?

____________________________________________________________________

In English, faith and belief or believe are translated from the same

original Greek root. And that makes sense because you have to

believe in something first before you can have faith in it. You might

get rich from a job you hate, or you might be healed by a doctor you

don’t trust—but you’ll never have faith in a God you don’t believe in.

Belief is inseparable from faith.

Yet, faith and belief are not the same thing. Faith might mean

“belief,” but belief doesn’t automatically mean “faith.” Scripture

warns about confusing the two.

Read

James 2:19. How does this verse help us to understand the dif-

ference between belief and biblical faith?

____________________________________________________________________

In many ways the key to understanding what James meant in 2:19

is what is found in verse 20. Biblical faith and works are related to

each other as human life is to breath: One automatically means the

other. An alleged faith that does not lead to surrender to God’s will is

not genuine but Satan’s counterfeit. No living or saving faith is merely

theoretical. Rather, it is always experimental and leads to action. Or,

as James bluntly put it: “Faith without works is dead”

(vs. 20), just as

a body without breath is dead, as well.

Faith is a gift, a fruit of the Spirit

(Gal. 5:22), but it isn’t something

that is just supernaturally bestowed upon us and we go on our merry

way. A daily cultivation of that faith, based on your love for God and

what He has done for you, is crucial to keeping that faith. If faith is

not cherished, if it’s not nurtured, protected, and strengthened, it will

degenerate into mere belief and, maybe eventually, into unbelief. The

world is filled with people who, once fervent in faith, don’t even

believe anymore. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an

evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God”

(Heb. 3:12).

What things do y

ou do that tend to str

engthen y

our faith,

and

what weakens it? Dwell on the implications of your answer.

FRIDAY

May 19

Further Study:

First Corinthians 13; Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ,

“God’s Love for Man,” pp. 9–15; The Desire of Ages, pp. 302–306,

347, 425– 431; Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 134, 135;

Education, pp. 253–255; Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, “The

Beatitudes,” pp. 13 –18.

Two other fruit of the Spirit are meekness and temperance: “Moses

was the greatest man who ever stood as leader of the people of God.

He was greatly honored by God, not for the experience which he had

gained in the Egyptian court, but because he was the meekest of men.

God talked with him face to face, as a man talks with a friend. If men

desire to be honored by God, let them be humble. Those who carry

forward God’s work should be distinguished from all others by their

humility. Of the man who is noted for his meekness, Christ says, He

can be trusted.”—Ellen G. White Comments,

The SDA Bible

Commentary,

vol. 1, p. 1113.

“Discipline and control the mental faculties. Self-control is a power

that all may possess. It is gained by placing the will wholly on the side

of God, taking the will of God for your will.”—Ellen G. White,

Our

High Calling, p. 219.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, talk about the meaning of love. You’ll probably

notice that it’s hard to define. Nevertheless, what points do your

definitions have in common? What can you learn from these

points?

● Is there someone from your church who is no longer attend-

ing, who is struggling with faith? If so, as a class, why not plan

on visiting that person or inviting him or her for a dinner or

some activity? What things can you do to help him or her regain

the faith that has slipped away?

● Let each person in the class talk about someone, not from the

Bible, who exhibited the traits of goodness and gentleness. Do the

same with meekness, as well. What can you learn from these

examples about the meaning of these terms and how these char-

acteristics should be manifested in our lives?

tor

INSIDE

Never Too Old

Toshiko Kinjo

Toshiko Kinjo, 69, recently received a bachelor’s degree in theology

from the Adventist seminary in Japan.

Born in southern Japan, she joined a Protestant church while in high

school and was sent abroad to study theology. She returned to Okinawa

and worked for a Christian mission until it disbanded. She then worked

in a church-sponsored kindergarten. She retired in 1996 and opened a

day care for kindergarten-age children. Ever the evangelist, she taught

the children songs and stories about Jesus. In her first year she led six

mothers to Christ through her day care.

Toshiko needed surgery, and her doctor recommended the Adventist

hospital in Okinawa. Toshiko had heard that Adventists are heretics, and

she refused to read the magazines the staff left in her room. Then she

found a book about a murderer who had become an Adventist Christian

after reading some literature. His life changed so much that the authori-

ties released him from prison. He enrolled in the Adventist seminary in

Japan and became a pastor.

As Toshiko read his story, her careful guard against Adventists was let

down. Then she learned that the pastor whose story she had read was

scheduled to speak in the hospital chapel. She had to go! Surely if this

man had become an Adventist pastor, this church could not be that bad.

Then Toshiko learned of a young man who had committed suicide.

Her heart went out to the family, and she asked the Adventist chaplain to

allow her to go with him to comfort the family. By association with

Adventist Christians, Toshiko’s prejudices broke down further. She

joined a small group Bible study and discovered many Bible truths she

had not known. In addition, she learned many secrets to healthful living.

She told her family what she had discovered, and at least one family

member has decided to become an Adventist.

Toshiko wanted to share the new truths she loves with others, but felt

she needed further study. She learned about a lay workers theology

course at the Adventist seminary, and she applied. The school encour-

aged her to study the full theological curriculum. She graduated in 2004

and now works for her neighbors in Okinawa. She does not want a title;

she just w

ants to w

ork for God any way He wants to use her.

Toshiko Kinjo lives in Okinawa, Japan.

oduced b

y the General Conf

erence Office of Mission Awareness.

email:info@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*May 20-26

L ESSON

The Christian’s Guide

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Luke 2:25-30, John

14:26, John 15:26, 16:12-14, Rom. 8:4, 1 Cor. 12:10.

Memory Text:

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,

he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;

but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew

you things to come” (J

ohn 16:13).

The death of Jesus for the sins of the world is the most important

of all truths. In contrast, what else really matters? And because it is

so important, God hasn’t left it up to us to try to figure it out on our

own. Instead, we have been given the promise of the Holy Spirit,

which will guide us in our understanding of this truth. For this reason,

in the end, no one will have an excuse in the day of judgment.

Indeed, the Spirit is a gift from God to us as fallen beings. Without

the death of Jesus, there would have been no salvation for anyone; at

the same time, without the Spirit to guide, regenerate, and empower

us, there would be no personal salvation. Jesus and the Spirit are knit

into One in order to bring humanity, lost in the wilderness of trans-

gression, back into the presence of the Father. It is the Father’s plan to

restore, through Jesus and the Spirit, the peace and harmony that

reigned betw

een God and humanity before the entrance of sin.

This week we’ll look a little more at the crucial operation of the

Holy Spirit in our lives.

*Study this w

eek’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 27.

SUNDAY

May 21

The Spirit, a Guide

“The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will

send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all

things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”

(John 14:26).

As an ambassador speaks in the name of his home government to a

foreign government, so the Spirit will speak to men and women in

Jesus’ name and with His authority. Jesus has perpetuated His earthly

teaching ministry through the Spirit. “The Lord Jesus acts through the

Holy Spirit.”—Ellen G. White, Sons and Daughters of God, p. 282.

addition to teaching, what else will the Spirit do? John 14:26.

____________________________________________________________________

“It was not until after Christ’s ascension to His Father, and the out-

pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully

appreciated the Saviour’s character and mission. After they had

received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realize that they had

been in the very presence of the Lord of glory. As the sayings of

Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened

to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand the miracles which

He had wrought. . . . His lessons, which they had but dimly under-

stood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The Scriptures became

to them a new book.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 507.

What

other promises does Jesus give us regarding the Holy Spirit?

John 14:17, John 15:26, 16:12-14.

____________________________________________________________________

The Spirit is a living, personal Teacher. Every time we open the

Bible, it is possible to have the Spirit unveil to us the true meaning of

what we read. The key to this is daily to surrender ourselves to the

Lord, asking Him to open our hear

ts and minds to truth, whatever it

is, w

here

ver it may lead us. In such circumstances the Holy Spirit can

surel

y guide.

Ask yourself how open you are to the teachings of the Holy

Spirit.

Do y

ou listen to Him, or do you make excuses in order to

do your own thing?

MONDAY

May 22

Flesh and Spirit

Read

Romans 8:4. Write in your own words what you believe Paul is

saying. Focus specifically on what walking “after the Spirit”

means.

See also Rom. 13:14, Gal. 5:22-24.

____________________________________________________________________

The Christian chooses not to follow his or her own impulses and

gratify his or her own inclinations but to follow, instead, the biddings

of the Spirit. The dedicated follower of Jesus will never do anything

without seeking the advice and guidance of God. “Lord, what do You

want me to do?” is the question the Christian continually asks.

Neither is the Christian to dwell in the realm of mere belief or the-

oretical faith. Our faith will be experimental rather than theoretical.

Under the guidance of the Spirit, the heavenly mind-set of belief will

be poured into the earthly mold of action and behavior.

Yet, however much the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a

miracle of faith, it doesn’t just happen automatically. Few of those

who have given their hearts to Christ and have been baptized in the

Holy Spirit suddenly find themselves living pure, sanctified lives

without diligent effort on their own part. Here is where people make

a mistake: Not to rely on your own works for salvation, or even not to

rely on your strength in the battle against sin, isn’t the same as not

having a daily struggle with self and the flesh. The battle is there, and

real, and it will require suffering on our part in order to be victorious.

The good news, however, is that we have been promised victory

through the indwelling Spirit.

Read

1 Peter 4:1, 2. What is the message there for us regarding the

battle against the flesh?

____________________________________________________________________

Is there some specific sin that you struggle with that causes you

a gr

eat deal of suffering in the f

lesh as y

ou seek to overcome in

Christ’s name? What practical things can you do, on a daily

basis,

that could make you more open to the power of the Spirit

in order for Him to give you the victory that is yours for the

asking?

TUESDAY

May 23

The Spirit and the Word

“Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,

which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).

The Word of God is here called the sword of the Spirit. It was the

Spirit that inspired the written revelation, since “holy men of God

spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”

(2 Pet. 1:21). This is

an important point that all Christians must always keep before them.

God promises us His Holy Spirit, but we are also given warnings.

Read

1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Timothy 4:1, and 1 John 3:24–4:1.

What’s the message here for us?

The fact of the matter is, there are lots of various spirits out there

teaching all sorts of doctrines. Even in the Christian church, strange

beliefs, not to mention strange practices, are promoted by those who

claim to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. Though, in some

cases, the deceptions and counterfeits are so obvious it’s amazing any-

one can fall for them; in others, the deceptions can be quite subtle,

promoted by people who might be kind, loving, gentle, even sincere.

How, then, can someone ultimately test the spirits, whether they be of

God or not?

What

do these texts teach us about the ultimate test of whether or not

teachings are inspired by the Holy Spirit?

Ps. 119:105, Isa. 8:20,

Luke 10:26, 16:29-31, Acts 17:11, 2 Tim. 3:15-17.

John Calvin admonishes: “We ought zealously to apply ourselves

both to read and to hearken to Scripture if indeed we want to receive

any gain and benefit from the Spirit of God. . . . But lest under his

sign the Spirit of Satan should creep in, he would have us recognize

him in his own image, which he has stamped upon the Scriptures. He

is the Author of the Scriptures: he cannot v

ary and differ from him-

self. Hence he must ever remain just as he once revealed himself

there.

”—John Calvin,

Institutes of the Christian Religion I, 9:2

(Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960).

What kinds of spiritual deceptions have you encountered? How

did the

ord of God protect you? Be prepared to share your

ans

er with the class.

WEDNESDAY

May 24

The Work of the Spirit

Read

John 16:14. What does Jesus say the Holy Spirit will do?

____________________________________________________________________

The work and purpose of the Spirit are centered on Jesus. He does

not call attention to Himself, but He directs the attention to Jesus. The

litmus test of any alleged workings of the Spirit in believers or organi-

zations is the place they accord Jesus. If they call attention to and glo-

rify self or humanity, and even magnify humanity’s spiritual experi-

ence, they lack the insignia of the Spirit.

The Spirit was not to present His own ideas or notions but only what

Jesus taught. Jesus said, “He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it

unto you”

(John 16:14).

Being the Spirit of truth, He will especially bear witness to Jesus,

who is the Truth (see John 14:6). And it is only through the Spirit’s

speaking directly to our hearts that we ever come to a true and living

knowledge of Jesus Christ and bear fruit for His glory.

What

are other ways the Holy Spirit can glorify our Lord? John 15:8,

Gal. 5:22-25, Eph. 5:9.

____________________________________________________________________

As believers, one of the greatest ways to bring glory to God, both

before people and angels

(1 Cor. 4:9), is by the lives we live, the char-

acters we form, and the way we treat others. These actions and atti-

tudes come through the work of the Holy Spirit in us; to the degree

that we cooperate, to the degree that we are willing to die to self and

to surrender to God’s will, to that degree the Lord can work in us

“both to will and to do of his good pleasure”

(Phil. 2:13). How cr

cial for all w

ho profess the name of Jesus to li

ve daily in an attitude

of f

aith, thanksgi

ving, and sur

render to His Spirit.

Look at your own life in the past 24 hours. What things did you

do that br

ought glory to God?

What things brought shame?

What changes do you need to make?

THURSDAY

May 25

An Example of the Spirit’s Guidance

Read

Luke 2:25-30 and then answer the following questions:

How

did Simeon know when to go to the temple in order to find “the

Lord’s Christ” (vs. 26)?

____________________________________________________________________

What

in these texts reveals why Simeon was so open to the promptings

of the Holy Spirit? What’s the important message for us in there?

____________________________________________________________________

What

was the significance of Simeon’s prayer; that is, what was he

doing through it? See John 15:26, 16:14. Why is this point the key

in understanding the work of the Holy Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

Notice,

too, the words of Simeon, under the inspiration of the

Spirit, to Mary. What gift of the Spirit was being manifest here?

See Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 12:10, 13:2.

Simeon, obviously, enjoyed such an intimate relationship with God

that the Spirit told him to go to the temple on the day the child Jesus

was being dedicated. From among the several boys who were being

dedicated to God that day, he was led to choose Jesus, who, from all

outward appearances, surely didn’t look any different from any other

baby. Meanwhile, the officiating priest did not recognize Jesus as the

promised Messiah; apparently, unlike Simeon, he was not susceptible

to the promptings of the Spirit. But Simeon recognized Him because

God sho

ed him w

ho w

as “the Lord’

s Christ.

” Some of the other boys

whom Simeon bypassed might also have been born in Bethlehem as

the firstborn child to mothers who were of the tribe of Judah. But only

Simeon’s intimate acquaintance and communion with God through the

Spirit enab

led him to inter

pret the f

actual prophetic pieces of infor

mation and recognize in Jesus the Promised One of God.

FRIDAY

May 26

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5,

pp. 703–705; The Great Controversy, pp. vii, viii, 467– 469, 607– 610;

The Desire of Ages, pp. 52–55; Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and

Students, pp. 357–361.

“Even the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart is to be tested by

the Word of God. The Spirit which inspired the Scriptures, always

leads to the Scriptures.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1,

p. 43.

Concerning the statement in John 16:14 that reads “He [the Spirit]

shall glorify me,” Ellen G. White says: “In these words Christ declares

the crowning work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit glorifies Christ by

making Him the object of supreme regard, and the Saviour becomes

the delight, the rejoicing, of the human agent in whose heart is

wrought this transformation.”—

My Life Today, p. 49.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, go over your answer to Tuesday’s final question.

What are some of the spiritual deceptions people have faced?

What things have you learned that could be helpful to others?

● Take two people: One has very good theology but is mean,

nasty, vindictive, and judgmental; the other, though theologically

suspect, is kind, loving, forgiving, and generous. Which one do

you think is revealing more of the Holy Spirit in his or her life?

Be prepared to defend your answer.

● How should the church respond to someone who, acting rather

strange, claims to be moving under the guidance of the Holy

Spirit?

● What can you do, as a class, that would bring glory to God?

Does it take something fancy, some loud production, in order to

do this, or can you, as a group, in a quiet and simple way glorify

your Lord? If so, how so?

tor

INSIDE

“Show Me How”

Jere Wallack

“I was confused,” Matt Castner said as we talked. “I felt God’s call to be

a minister, but I wondered how God could use me in the ministry. But after

a week at blind camp, I knew.”

Matt was born blind—both physically and spiritually. “I was deep in sin,”

Matt testifies. “Then Jesus got hold of my heart. I wouldn’t be alive today

if Jesus hadn’t grabbed me with His love!”

Matt had joined a group of young adults for a week at the National

Winter Camp for the Blind in Colorado. For one week they enjoyed skiing,

snowmobile riding, snow tubing, basketball, roller skating, and other sports

normally reserved for those with sight. The week was filled with laughter

and pure joy.

Over dinner one night Matt shared his testimony with me. Then he

added, “My greatest desire is to give a public invitation to these campers to

give their heart to Jesus.”

I was serving as camp chaplain and invited Matt to do just that on Friday

evening. Matt responded with “Hallelujah! God does answer prayer!”

For days Matt prayed about what to say. I prayed; we prayed together. On

Friday evening I shared stories, experiences, and Bible texts. Then I invited

Matt to stand beside me. I took his hand to guide his steps, and God took

his heart to guide Matt’s words. Matt began speaking; powerful words

flowed from his heart. Then came his invitation: “Some of you have never

given your heart to Jesus. This is the time. Some of you, like me, have

given your heart to Jesus, but you’ve dabbled again with sin. Jesus is call-

ing me tonight. I am giving my heart to Him again. Will you join me?”

The silence was broken by the sound of sniffles and shuffling of chairs as

one then another camper stood to their feet. Campers stood; staff members

stood.

Matt prayed, and I prayed. Until the wee hours of the morning Matt

prayed and shared the love of Jesus with individual campers. And that night

God confirmed Matt’s call into the ministry.

Later Matt told me, “I was praying, ‘God, this is Your show, don’t let me

get in the way! Just move, God. Move on my friends’ hearts.’ God answered

my prayer. God used me for His glory! God confirmed His call to me,”

Matt said. “I must be a minister.”

Jere Wallack is the director of the North American Division Church Resource Center,

whose mission is to create relevant resources for growing healthy congrerations. He lives

in Columbia, Maryland.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:inf

o@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*May 27–June 2

L ESSON

Life Through the

Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

John 3:3-6, 15-17; Rom.

8:6-11; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 1:6, 7; Col. 2:6.

Memory Text:

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh prof-

iteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are the spirit,

and they are life”

(John 6:63).

he Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without

this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The

power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the sub-

mission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be

resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third

Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy,

but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual

what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit

that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a

partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine

power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil,

and to impress His own character upon His church.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 671.

What incredible thoughts! What a powerful and precise revelation

of the importance of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Yet, we

must always remember: In the same way that Jesus never forced

Himself upon anyone, neither will the Spirit. We must make a daily

choice to cooperate; otherwise, He can do little for us.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 3.

SUNDAY

May 28

Salvation and the Spirit

As we’ve already seen, the Holy Spirit guides us into truth; that

means, of course, He guides us to Jesus, for as He Himself said, “I

am . . . the truth”

(John 14:6). Yet, the truth about Jesus isn’t just that

He is God, which He is, or that He entered into humanity, which He

did, or that He lived sinlessly, which is true; instead, the crucial truth

about Jesus is that He died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. No

matter how important everything else about Jesus is, in the end, they

all culminate in His substitutionary death in behalf of humanity. Any

theology that ignores or weakens this point is deviating from the

work of the Holy Spirit, who is to guide us into “all truth”

(John

16:13), and Christ on the cross as our Substitute is the center of all

truth (1 Cor. 2:2).

Look

up the following texts and write what they tell us about the

foundation of our salvation:

John 3:15-17

____________________________________________________________________

Rom. 3:22-24

____________________________________________________________________

Eph. 1:6, 7

____________________________________________________________________

As Christians, the foundation of our hope, our acceptance with

God, stems not from anything we can do, not from any works of right-

eousness we can produce, not even from any fruit of the Spirit but

only from the righteousness of Jesus credited to us by faith. This is

our surety, our guarantee, the only sure foundation upon which we can

have any assurance. Through the merits of Christ’s perfect life,

granted to us through nothing but God’s grace—which is His unmer-

ited favor toward us as wayward sinners—there is no condemnation

for us

(Rom. 8:1), either now or in the judgment. Of all the truth the

Holy Spirit could bring us, what could be more precious than this?

Are you struggling with assurance of salvation? Pray over

toda

y’

s study. Make the Bible promises your own. Ask the Spirit

to help you learn to trust only in Christ’s merits as the basis of

our salv

ation.

May 29

Death to Self: The Spirit in Us

No question, the Holy Spirit will guide us into the truth about Jesus.

But His work for us doesn’t stop there; on the contrary, it only begins

there. Leading us to Jesus, pointing us to the way of salvation, is only

the first step in the Spirit’s work. For not only does the Holy Spirit

work for us, guiding us to Jesus; He also works in us, changing us,

taking the salvation we have in Jesus and making it manifest in our

lives. The Christ who died for us is now the Christ who lives in us, as

well.

Of course, the only way Christ can live in men and women is

through His Spirit. Jesus infiltrates our minds by the Holy Spirit. The

operations of God, in and for humanity, are through His Spirit.

Without it, we might know intellectually about Jesus’ death, but it

would never save us, for it would never become the life-changing

force that it must be for all Christians.

Read

Romans 8:6-11. In your own words, write out what these

verses are saying to you. How do they help you understand what

the Spirit does in the lives of all followers of Christ?

____________________________________________________________________

Notice the importance Paul placed on the work of the Holy Spirit in

us. Though the great preacher of salvation by faith alone, Paul is just

as emphatic about the place of holy living and obedience. There is no

ambivalence here: If we live after the flesh, we will die; if we don’t

have the Spirit working in us, we are not Christ’s. It’s hard to imagine

how much plainer he could have been.

According to Paul, we should be dead to the flesh; in other words,

our carnal desires, though there, should not dominate us. The same

powerful Spirit that raised up Jesus from death is now working in us,

making us dead to sin and alive unto righteousness. Paul isn’t talking

just theory here: This is the reality of salvation in the life of the

believer.

What is your own experience with being “dead” in Christ? Does

this “death” occur only once, or is it a daily, ongoing process?

What does your answer tell you about the day-by-day struggle

Christians must face?

MONDAY

The Spirit and Life

Yesterday, we saw how firmly Paul linked the Spirit with life, in

contrast to the flesh and death. It’s a theme found elsewhere in his

writings. Obviously, it’s something the apostle considered of major

importance. We who were once dead in sin

(Eph. 2:1) are now,

through the Spirit, dead to sin and alive unto God (Rom. 6:11). What

a radical change!

Read

Galatians 5:16-25. Notice the contrast he expresses here between

“works” (vs. 19) of the flesh and the “fruit” (vs. 22) of the Spirit. If

you could summarize these texts in a single sentence, what would

you write?

____________________________________________________________________

Here, too, Paul is very plain: If you do the things of the flesh, you

will die, you will be lost. It’s that simple: The Spirit brings life, the

flesh brings death.

Interesting, too, is how he contrasts “works” of the flesh with the

“fruit” of the Spirit. Perhaps Paul was contrasting how we reap from

the flesh what we sow from the flesh. In other words, sin is what we

work at, suffer with, and finally reap the results of. In contrast, the

fruit of the Spirit is something that naturally happens in a person who

is under the control of the Spirit.

How

are we to understand these two phrases (“you are not under the

law” [vs. 18] and “against such there is no law” [vs. 23]) in the

above texts?

____________________________________________________________________

Paul, for sure, is not saying Christians should no longer follow the

Ten Commandments. That would contradict so much not only of what

he wrote in other places but of what other parts of the New Testament

teach, as well. Instead

, he seems to be saying that if you manifest the

fruit of the Spirit, you are automatically obeying the law and thus are

not being condemned b

y it.

The fr

uit of the Spirit is an expression of

the law just as the works of the flesh are violations of it. The Galatians

ere Jews who were falling back into legalism; Paul was seeking to

lead them toward something higher than dead works, which could not

e them. Far from negating the law, he was urging them to live in

the Spirit, w

hich is e

xpressed in obedience to the la

TUESDAY

May 30

WEDNESDAY

May 31

“Born of the Spirit”

Read

John 3:3-6. What does Jesus mean by making the distinction

between being born in the flesh and being born in the Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________

We are all, by nature, born in the flesh. Unless “born again”

(which, in the Greek, really means “born from above”) by and through

the Holy Spirit, we remain in the flesh and will, of course, die in the

flesh.

Our only hope is the new birth, a regeneration and a partaking of

the divine nature. The divine nature is imparted or mediated by the

Spirit through the Word. Regeneration is, therefore, not our natural

life brought up to the highest level of attainment but rather divine life

from above imparted to us “who were dead in trespasses and sins”

(Eph. 2:1). This comes through the power of the Holy Spirit working

in us (see Titus 3:5).

The new birth, though, isn’t the end of the experience of salvation.

It’s the beginning. No matter how life-changing the new birth is, we

must daily live out that experience. We’re not just born again and then

go happily and obliviously into the kingdom of God. It just doesn’t

work that w

ay.

Read

Colossians 2:6. What do these words say regarding what it

means to live out our new-birth experience?

____________________________________________________________________

The life of someone born from above includes self-denial (Luke

9:23), self-sacrifice (Rom. 12:1), and a surrender of our sinful desires

(Rom. 6:19). Though in and of ourselves we are not capable of these

things, the Holy Spirit working in us will bring us to the point where

we have to make the choice to yield to Him as opposed to the flesh.

Once that decision is made, He will give us the power to obey. In the

end, everything depends upon the right action of the will. We have to

make the choices.

The next time you face temptation, consciously dwell upon your

ee choice at the moment of temptation.

Realize that the decision

to obey God or to sin is yours. Will you yield to sin, or will you sur-

render to the Holy Spirit, claim His power, and get the victory?

THURSDAY

June 1

Connection

Before Jesus died, He gave His followers the promise of the Holy

Spirit. Notice, however, what He said specifically in John 14:18: “I

will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

The

Bible is clear—Jesus is now ministering for us in the heavenly

sanctuary (Heb. 9:24). What, then, did He mean when He said “I

will come to you”?

____________________________________________________________________

Jesus is no longer here in the flesh, but He is here in the Spirit,

which is His Representative on earth now. Through intimacy with the

Spirit, we have intimacy with Christ. The Holy Spirit keeps the pres-

ence of Christ alive for us. Through the Spirit we can have a close and

intimate walk with Christ.

And this walk is, in many ways, the crucial issue of life through the

Holy Spirit. We want to serve God because we love God; we want to

be cleansed of sin because we love God and we know what sin has

wrought in God’s creation. Sure, life through the Spirit demands sur-

render, sacrifice, and death to self; but if the Spirit dwells in us, it will

keep before us the amazing sacrif

ice of Jesus in our behalf. If we, day

by day, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, dwell upon Jesus and

upon the wonderful love manifested toward us through His death on

the cross, we will be empowered from above to live as God asks us to

live. To be sanctified isn’t just to stop doing bad things; it is to be “set

apart” for God, to live for Him in faith, repentance, and surrender.

This can happen only through a living connection with Him. “We may

leave off many bad habits, and yet not be truly sanctified, because we

do not have a connection with God. We must unite with Christ.”

—Ellen G. White,

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Jan. 24,

1893.

In your own religious experience, what are the things that allow

you to connect with Jesus? Write just what it is that connects

you to Him and helps you know and love Him better. At the

same time,

write alongside your answer whatever Bible verses

ou f

ind that correspond with your answers. Be prepared to

shar

e y

our r

esponse in class.

____________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY

June 2

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5,

pp. 226–231; Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 373, 374; Selected

Messages, book 2, pp. 38, 39; The Desire of Ages, pp. 171–176, 209,

210, 388.

“The gift of righteousness is communicated to men through the

agency of the Holy Spirit (see John 16:8). Herein lies the difference

between the ineffective righteousness man seeks through works and

the effective righteousness that comes through faith. In the former the

Spirit has no part, for the effort is purely human and thus independent

of divine grace.”—

The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 977.

“Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep His

commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, ‘A new heart also will

I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.’ Ezek. 36:26. The

change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a

miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour, working to rescue souls. A

consistent life in Christ is a great miracle. In the preaching of the

word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the

presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the word a regenerating power to

those that hear.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages, p. 407.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, go over your answers to Thursday’s final question.

What points do the answers have in common? What can you

learn from one another? If you could summarize in a few lines,

what’s the key to truly being connected with Christ?

● What advice would you give to someone who says to you “I

love Jesus, and I want to obey, but I keep falling into the same sin

over and over”?

● As we discuss the work of the Holy Spirit in us, why is it always

crucial to remember that the basis of our salvation is what Christ

has done for us? What dangers do we face if we ever lose sight of

that crucial truth?

tor

INSIDE

The Locked Door

Tabitha Churu

Pastor and Mrs. David Churu of Kenya were living in a second-floor

apartment. On Friday night they locked the front door and their bedroom

door for extra security before going to bed.

The next morning Mrs. Churu got up to prepare breakfast, but she could

not unlock the bedroom door. Her husband tried, but he could not unlock

the door either. He tried prying the door open, but it would not budge. After

several minutes the couple prayed. “Lord, help us. We need to get to the

church where the people are waiting for us, but the door will not open.”

Pastor Churu examined the faulty key, but he could see nothing different

about it. It had locked the door the night before; why did it not unlock the

door? The couple remembered that their neighbor had duplicate keys to

their apartment. They leaned out the window and asked someone to go to

the neighbor’s apartment and ask them to bring their keys. Perhaps the

spare key would unlock the door.

The neighbor soon appeared outside and tossed the keys up to the pastor,

who caught them. The key ring had many keys, and they all looked alike.

Which one was the correct key? Pastor Churu chose a key and slipped it

into the lock. It turned, and the door slid open. He looked at the key that

had opened the door; it was nothing like the key that had been made for the

lock. How could this key open the door when their own key couldn’t?

The couple returned the keys and hurried to church for the final meeting

of the evangelistic series they were holding. When he called for decisions

that day 30 people asked for baptism.

Joyfully the couple returned from church. They stopped and asked their

neighbor if they could borrow the keys again to see why the neighbor’s key

had opened their door when their own key would not. They tried all the

neighbor’s keys, but none of them would unlock the door. Then they tried

their own key, the one that would not work that morning. It worked per-

fectly, and continued to work for as long as they lived in that apartment.

astor Churu suspects that the devil did not want them to go to church

that day. He thanks God for overcoming the devil’s mischief and freeing

them from their room. They thank God even more for using them to free

searching people from Satan’

s powers.

Tabitha Churu and her pastor husband are students at the University of Eastern Africa in

Baraton, Kenya.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:inf

o@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*June 3-9

L ESSON

The Restorer

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Genesis 1, Jer. 17:9, John

15:13, Rom. 1:21, 5:10-19, 1 Cor. 13:4-7, Titus 1:15, 2 Pet. 1:2-8.

Memory Text:

“Being confident of this very thing, that he

which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day

of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

ne of the g

reat hopes of all Christians is the hope of eternal

life. After all, without that—what? We live, we die, we rot in

the ground forever alongside the animals? No, that’s not to be

our end. Instead, not only do we have the hope of eternal life—it’s not

a continued life here in this world as it now is. Please! Our short exis-

tence world is hard enough;

imagine that going on forever!

Instead, we’re given the wonderful promise: “Nevertheless we,

according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,

wherein dwelleth righteousness”

(2 Pet. 3:13). Eternal life isn’t eter-

nal life on this sinful earth but on a new one where there will dwell not

sin, not death, not sinners—but “righteousness.”

From the beginning, God has been working toward that goal, that

goal of a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

And this is where the plan of salvation becomes crucial, for the plan

of salvation is how God is working to get us into that new earth. That’s

hy salvation includes the process of restoration. God is getting us

ready for a new heaven and a new earth and the righteousness that

will dwell there.

This week we continue our look at what the Holy Spirit is doing in

order to prepare us for our ne

w home.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 10.

SUNDAY

June 4

Created in God’s Image (Genesis 1)

Even the simplest reading of the Genesis Creation account reveals

that our existence is no accident. We are not here because of blind,

purposeless forces that, given enough time, just happened to coalesce

into a people-filled planet. Instead, we are here because God pur-

posely put us here. Verse after verse in Genesis 1 explicitly depicts

God as the Agent of Creation. In other words, there was a distinct plan

for our existence. Nothing was left to chance. Contrast this view to

evolutionary theory, which claims we are here

only by chance; that

there was no plan, no purpose, no intention for us. We are a cosmic

accident, nothing more. It’s hard to imagine any view more contra-

dictory to biblical origins than evolution. No wonder Satan works so

hard to promote it.

Genesis

1:26, 27 says that God created man and woman in His

own image. What does that mean, being created in the image of

God? How does 1 John 4:8 help us answer this question?

____________________________________________________________________

Whatever being in the image of God means, it must also include the

capacity to love. As beings made in the image of a God who Himself

“is love,” what else could it be? This ability to love sets us apart dis-

tinctly from the rest of what was created in Genesis 1. The moon, the

grass, the seas, even the animals—none of which was made in the

image of God—don’t have the capacity to love as humans do.

Certainly the ability to love, as we have it, has made us different from

everything else created in Genesis.

From your own personal experiences, along with what the Bible

teaches

(see John 15:13, 1 Cor. 13:4-7, 1 John 4:10), what is your

best understanding of what love is? What does your answer tell

you about what Adam and Eve must have been like after first

being created? What does your answer tell you about what life

on this earth was intended to be like? Be prepared to share your

answer in class.

____________________________________________________________________

MONDAY

June 5

Love and the Fall

Read

Genesis 3:1-6. What did Adam and Eve have to possess in order

to be able to fall?

____________________________________________________________________

Yesterday, we saw we were created in the image of God, and what-

ever else that must mean, it must, at least, mean we were given the

capacity to love. Yet, love, in order to be love, has to be free; that is,

God can’t force His creatures to love Him, or one another for that mat-

ter. Love cannot be coerced. Because we were given the ability to love,

we also were given free choice. The Fall is a powerful example of what

happens when beings with free choice make the wrong choices.

And we, too, millennia after Eden, have free choice. Yet, our situa-

tion is much worse than Adam and Eve’s before the Fall. They were

perfect beings, living in the full light of God’s glory; their natures were

not corrupted or sinful. In contrast, we are fallen beings with cor-

rupted, sinful natures steeped in iniquity. It’s one thing having free

choice while perfect; it’s another having that same free choice while

corrupted. What’s scarier: a kind, gentle, loving person who carries a

gun or a nasty, spiteful, and hateful one who wields the same weapon?

What

kind of picture do the following texts portray about unregen-

erate human nature? Jer. 17:9, Rom. 1:21, 5:12, Eph. 2:3, Titus

1:15.

____________________________________________________________________

The Bible is very clear about the state of fallen human nature. It’s

bad, very bad, and left unchecked it would lead to death and destruc-

tion for the entire human race. All one has to do is look around at the

world today, and we can see, everywhere, the results of what our

fallen nature has wrought: war, terrorism, addiction, exploitation,

prostitution, crime, and on and on. It’s onl

y because of the grace of

God we haven’t destroyed ourselves. No doubt, if given enough time,

e w

ould accomplish just that.

What things do y

ou see around you every day that testify to the

corruption of human nature? What does your answer tell you

bout just ho

w desperate our situation would be if left

unsolv

ed?

TUESDAY

June 6

Second Probation

Sunday and Monday we looked at first the creation of humanity and

then at the Fall. Our situation, as fallen creatures, was bleak. The

actions of Adam and Eve after the Fall perfectly reflected the state of

humanity: fearful, alienated from God and each other, guilty, and

ashamed. With their children, murder was added to the roster of

human wickedness

(Gen. 4:8), and before long their hearts were

“only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).

Of course, we know that God didn’t leave humanity to suffer the

full and final results of sin. The whole plan of salvation was initiated

by the Lord in order to rescue us from the utter ruin that would other-

wise have been ours. Jesus came and went over the same ground as

Adam, only where Adam failed Jesus succeeded—and because of

what Jesus accomplished, the whole world was given another chance.

Through faith in Jesus, anyone, anywhere, can have the promise of

eternal life, the promise of having restored everything that was lost

through sin.

Look

at the following text (Rom. 5:10-19). What is the essential mes-

sage it is giving to us? Notice the stark contrasts presented here.

What brought death, and what brings life?

Jesus came, and through all He accomplished with His sinless life

and then atoning death, the human race has been given another

chance. In this sense, the human race, as a whole, has been restored

to favor with God. This doesn’t mean the whole race is automatically

saved or justified; it means, instead, everyone has been given another

chance. The doom that should have been ours through Adam has been

averted because of Jesus.

“The word of God declares that we are not our own, that we are

bought with a price. It is at an immense cost that we have been placed

upon vantage ground, where we can find liberty from the bondage of

sin wrought by the fall in Eden. Adam’s sin plunged the race into

hopeless misery; but by the sacrifice of the Son of God, a second pro-

bation was g

ranted to man. In the plan of redemption a way of escape

is provided for all who will avail themselves of it.”—Ellen G. White,

Christian

emper

ance and Bible Hygiene,

p. 15.

Think a

bout what it means to have a “second probation.” Were

you ever given a second chance at something? What did you

lear

n fr

om that experience that can help you better appreciate

hat y

ou no

w ha

e been gi

en thr

ough the Cr

oss?

WEDNESDAY

June 7

The Restoration: Part 1

Yesterday, we saw that despite our desperate situation, God did not

leave us without hope. On the contrary, we have been given great

hope through Jesus Christ, who has paved the way for each of us to

return to what we would have been before the Fall.

And the process begins now. The gospel isn’t just salvation; it isn’t

just a change in our legal status before God. The gospel is also

restoration. We were originally made in the image of God; the plan of

salvation is the process to bring us back to that state. This isn’t just

something that will happen at the Second Coming: It’s a process that

begins now. The Holy Spirit is working in us to restore in us what has

been lost through sin.

Read

2 Peter 1:2-8. How do these verses, particularly the part where

Peter talks about being “partakers of the divine nature,” help us

understand the work of restoration that is going on in us right

now? How do these verses relate to Genesis 1:26, 27?

____________________________________________________________________

God works to change fallen beings into His image by transforming

their wills, minds, and desires. In short, the Holy Spirit works on our

characters. Partaking of the divine nature, we are being transformed.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the

Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by

the Spirit of the Lord”

(2 Cor. 3:18). And that image, of course, is the

image of God, and this has been revealed to us in no better way than

through Jesus, who was “the express image”

(Heb. 1:3) of God’s per-

son. Yet, because Jesus isn’t here in the flesh, the Holy Spirit is here

as His Representative, revealing to us the truths that will change and

transform our lives. This is a process of restoration that will not be

completed until there’s a new heaven and a new earth. Until then, God

is working on us no

w, getting us ready for a new existence that has

been made a

ailable to us through Jesus.

Imagine what your life would be like if you more and more

reflected the character of Jesus. What immediate changes

ould tak

e place, particularly in your relationship with others,

were you to start reflecting that character?

THURSDAY

June 8

The Restoration: Part 2

Write

the essential message of each text, and as you write out your

answer, ask yourself: How well am I experiencing the promises

given in each text?

Rom. 5:1

____________________________________________________________________

2 Cor. 5:17

____________________________________________________________________

Eph. 4:24

____________________________________________________________________

Phil. 2:12, 13

____________________________________________________________________

1 Pet. 5:10

____________________________________________________________________

The Christian life is a road toward perfection (Rom. 12:2, James

1:4),

a word that in the New Testament comes with the idea of “com-

pletion,” “fully grown,” or “mature.” We are to be perfect in our finite

and fallen sphere as God is in His infinite and absolute sphere (Matt.

5:48).

Apart from Christ, of course, we cannot attain any kind of “perfec-

tion.” Instead, it is Christ who “became to us wisdom from God, and

righteousness and sanctification, and redemption”

(1 Cor. 1:30,

NASB). In Christ, these qualitites constitute our “perfection” before

God. He completed, once and for all, our sanctification and redemp-

tion. We are “complete in Him” even now

(Col. 2:10). It is now the

work of the Holy Spirit to take these “completed” products and make

manifest in our lives the reality of what Christ has done for us. Our

wth, our character de

elopment, our restoration to

ard the image

of God become the living expression of what it means to “be filled

with all the fulness of God”

(Eph. 3:19). In Christ, the Holy Spirit is

making real in us the reality of what Christ has done for us. No one

can be a Christian without both these aspects of salv

ation founda

tional to their new lives in Christ.

FRIDAY

June 9

Further Study:

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 44,

45; Steps to Christ, “Consecration,” pp. 47, 48; Testimonies for the

Church, vol. 9, pp. 21–23; Christ’s Object Lessons, “The Sower Went

Forth to Sow,” pp. 33–69; “Two Worshipers,” pp. 161–163; Ellen G.

White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 1097,

1098.

“In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external

force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is

left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place

when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of free-

dom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have

no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire

to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out

of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the

divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will

in fulfilling the will of God.”—Ellen G. White,

The Desire of Ages,

p. 466.

“Those who are begotten unto a new life by the Holy Spirit, have

become partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and prac-

tices they will give evidence of their relationship to Christ.”—Ellen G.

White Comments,

The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1101.

Discussion Questions:

● As a class, go over your answers to Sunday’s final question.

Before you do, have each person write on a card his or her own

definition of love and have each person read it before the discus-

sion begins.

● Read aloud in class the second Ellen G. White quote listed

above. How does that idea help us understand the close relation-

ship between faith and works in the life of a Christian?

● As a class, talk about the idea of a “second probation,” a sec-

ond chance. Is there anyone you know who needs another

chance? If so, why not, as a class, make a determined effort to

find that person and let him or her know that he or she has

another chance, not only with each of you but, more important,

with God?

tor

INSIDE

The Shining Church,

Part 1

Mar Dela Fuente

Datu (chief) Lagunday of Migtulod village in the mountains of southern

Philippines was the only person in his village who wanted the student mis-

sionaries from Mountain View College to come and teach the children. The

villagers were sure the new school was a trap to steal the tribe’s land. Even

the chief’s wife resisted the coming of these “outsiders.” But the chief pre-

vailed, and the first team of student missionary teachers arrived in 1994.

“If you will not send your children to the village school I will not force

you,” Chief Lagunday told the people. “But as long as I am chief I will sup-

port this school. I believe that some day this village will be a shining light

to other villages.”

Unfortunately Chief Lagunday died, and the villagers closed the school.

But the new chief soon realized that the village needed the school and its

selfless young teachers to educate the children. He journeyed to Mountain

View College and begged the student missionaries to come back and

reopen the school.

Soon the village echoed with children’s voices singing praises to God

early in the morning. As the people learned the importance of cleanliness,

they cleaned themselves and their squalid village. Pigs were no longer per-

mitted to run through the village. The village became the cleanest commu-

nity on the mountainside; it became a shining light to the villages around it.

The children learned quickly, and soon they could compete with students

from other villages in the skills they had learned. The parents learned better

farming techniques and soon had enough produce to sell in the lowland

marketplaces.

The villagers built a church on the hill overlooking their village. They

planted lovely flowers along the steep dirt path up the hillside. The church’s

gas lamp drew villagers up the hillside for evening worships, and on

Sabbaths the church was filled with believers who brought their food and

stayed all day on the hillside.

Early one morning the wife of the new village chief woke her husband

and children to tell them of a bright star shining from the church on the hill.

“Truly our church

is shining to other villages,” the chief said.

(Continued next week)

When this was written Mar Dela Fuente was a student missionary teacher at the Adventist

mission sc

hool in Migtulod

illa

e in southern Philippines.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness.

email:info@adventistmission.org website:www.adventistmission.org

*June 10-16

L ESSON

The Sin Against the

Holy Spirit

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week’s Study:

Matt. 12:22-31, Mark

3:22-30, 10:45, Luke 18:10-14, John 3:14-16, 1 Cor. 15:3, 1 Tim.

1:15, Heb

. 2:9.

Memory Text:

“Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven

unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they

shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy

Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damna-

tion”

(Mark 3:28, 29).

f all the hard sayings in the Bible, this memory text has to be

among the most difficult. Considering who Jesus was and

what He did in order to be able to forgive our sins, the idea of

a sin that even the Cross doesn’t make provision for should cause us to

tremble. Murder, incest, pride, adultery, theft, idolatry, even words

spoken against Christ

(Matt. 12:21-32) can be forgiven (Eph. 1:7); yet,

in the words of Christ Himself, “he that shall blaspheme against the

Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness” (Mark 3:29). That’s incredible!

Thus, the logical question is “What is this so-called ‘unpardonable

sin’ ” (a phrase that, by the way, never appears in Scripture)? The whole

idea of a sin that can’t be forgiven seems so contrary to all we know

about the God who went through so much precisely in order to forgive

us all our sins. That’s why this is a topic so worthy of study—for we all

need to be aware of the one thing that, more than anything else, leaves

us, as Jesus said

, “in danger of eter

nal damnation” (vs. 29).

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 17.

SUNDAY

June 11

To Save Sinners

According

to 1 Timothy 1:15, what was the purpose of Christ’s

coming to this earth?

____________________________________________________________________

Volumes could be written about the reasons for the incredible story

of Jesus Christ, the God who veiled His divinity in humanity and died

in our stead the death that we, as sinners, deserve. Among those

reasons for the life and death of Jesus are:

1. He came in order to reveal to us just what God was like (John

14:9).

2. He came in order to be a Servant of God and show what servant-

hood was about (Matt. 20:25-28, Phil. 2:5-7).

3. He came to leave us an example of how to live ( John 2:6, 1 Pet.

2:21).

4. He came in order to be a faithful and merciful High Priest in our

behalf (Heb. 2:17, 18).

All these things, however important, would be meaningless to us

without w

hat’s undoubtedly the most crucial aspect of Christ’s earthly

mission.

Read

Mark 10:45, John 3:14-16, 1 Cor. 15:3, Heb. 2:9, and 1 John

3:8. What reasons do these texts together give for the life and

death of Jesus?

____________________________________________________________________

Of all the reasons Jesus came and died, the most important—at

least from our perspective—is that He died to save us from the legal

penalty of sin, which is death, eternal death. And the great news is

that through His work He is able to do just that for anyone who

accepts Him. Salvation comes to all w

ho believe, the Jew first and

then the Gentile

(Rom. 2:9). Those who believe are then spared the

“eter

nal damnation” Jesus w

ned about in numerous places, includ-

ing Mark 3:29, in which He talked about the one sin that could lead

to this damnation. Thus, if through belief in Him we are spared this

“eter

nal damnation,

” and if the “unpardonable sin” leads to this

damnation, what most likely is this “unpardonable sin” really about?

MONDAY

June 12

“All Manner of Sin and Blasphemy”

Read

Matthew 12:22-31 and summarize the context in which Jesus

said what He did. Notice, too, to whom He was speaking. How does

that help us understand what He was saying in regard to the

“unpardonable sin”?